Two days ago, my grandchildren Aubrey, Oliver and Joey, and my great niece London, spent the afternoon painting rocks. Rock painting, and hiding them and finding them, is a fun creative activity trending across the US. The humidity was high Wednesday, extending the drying time of the paint.
After thunderstorms rolled through the area last night and early this morning, the weather today was perfect for being outside…mild, sunny, and breezy with low humidity. Sadly, London could not join us this afternoon. The other children and I gathered up the painted rocks and drove to Cunningham Park in Joplin to hide them.
Hiding painted rocks is much like hiding Easter eggs. You want them to be found. Each child carried a bag of rocks to hide around the park, while I followed along, snapping pics. The kids are so used to me documenting everything we do that they often pause for a photo op. I love that!
Included in our stash were two painted rocks the kids had found previously. These were hidden again in this new location.
Found by Aubrey at the Carthage Police Department
Found by Joey in the Joplin Public Library.
Here are pics of the kids hiding rocks:
Aubrey, Oliver and Joey thoroughly enjoyed hiding rocks. Clever Joey even painted one to resemble dog poop. I would love to see that one discovered!
As they hid rocks, tucking them into rock walls, carvings and bushes, and dropping them in easily spotted locations on the ground and atop park benches, the kids also looked for painted rocks. That's part of the appeal of this hobby.
They hid fourteen rocks. They found, and rehid, five!
We had such fun with this creative project this week. From painting the rocks, to hiding them at the park, to finding painted rocks created by others, this was a good way for the kids to express themselves artistically, in a low pressure, non competitive way. The children encouraged each other, when they painted. And today they stayed near each other as they explored the park, looking for hiding places and for hidden rocks. I enjoyed their sense of teamwork and accomplishment.
I will post pics of the rocks we hid and the ones we found, on the Joplin Area Rocks Facebook page. Check out the group, for fun ideas and to catch a glimpse of the craze that is rock painting. And then paint up some river rocks and come find me and my grandchildren in a park. We will hide rocks, and look for rocks, together.
