Kindergarten readiness can come in all colors, especially for painting rocks. Paintbrushes and colors are often favorites of children and painting activities develop many different kinds of skills, such as doing things in order, language fluency, following instructions, fine-motor control, patience, planning, completing a task, focusing and attention skills and more.
Adults think of paints and crayons as tools for creating art. For kids, paints and crayons are more than that. They are tools for discovering and learning through play. Creating with paints and crayons is also a form of self-expression as kids explore what they like and don’t like and exercise their imaginations. They are also building the understanding that images on paper have meaning, which is a basic concept for both reading and writing. Language skills are also developed as kids talk about what they are doing and practice words like more, darker-lighter, bigger-smaller, shapes and colors. Kids discover that some colors mixed together make new ones for some science fun. Taking care of their crayons and paints and helping clean up afterwards also helps them learn to be responsible. As kids work and play, they are building their attention span.
When painting rocks, the first step is to protect the table or floor with some paper and your child’s clothes with a paint shirt or old t-shirt. Rocks need to get washed and dried. Talk with your child about what it might be. This encourages imagination and more fun. Once painted, set it in a safe place to dry.
I love these 2 pictures of painted rocks, done by both kids and grownups. After all, grownups need to play, too. Does painting rocks sound like fun for you and your little rockstar?