Easy Rock Crafts for Kids
Time for Easy Rock Crafts for Kids! If your kids are anything like mine, then they have a fascination with collecting stones and rocks!! Wherever we go, a stone will end up in our pocket and will be brought home! Especially if we are at the beach.. then the kids can spend HOURS finding the perfect rock that simply HAS to come home with us. Needless to say, we have quite a big stone collection in our house now. We have big rocks and little flat stones, we have medium sized ones and we have round ones… all sorts. What to do with all those stones? I have once again pulled together a fantastic list of our favourite rock crafts for kids. There is a great variety here and hopefully something for everyone!!!! If lots more colourful nature crafts for kids for you, if your kids are bringing home other nature items to craft with! IF you are working with younger kids, you may want to check out our darling Summer Crafts for Preschoolers here!
These Rock Crafts for Kids were first shared in July 2017, and have been updated and republished for your convenience. Enjoy!
What is the best way to paint rocks?
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Posca Pens are the best.. but they are a bit pricey? Just means little ones can handle the pens best and actually add some detail. Posca pens come in a variety of colours and nib sizes. You can check them out here US/ UK I don’t much rate the white pens though!
I also like gloss enamels – you don’t need much, if you want to add a whole base colour – they also have a very nice finish and don’t need to be varnished. You could buy one or two gloss enamels and add details in black sharpies for examples. US/ UK
And finally.. this is the cheapest option and works FAIRLY well (they they fade a little over time – see our Stone Owls), you could get a white acrylic – paint the rocks white and then go over them with sharpies! We love System 3 acrylics and of course your classic sharpies for this technique. US/ UK
Easy Rock Crafts for Kids to PLAY WITH
Well.. it seems that most rock crafts for kids are all about PLAY PLAY PLAY. So many great rock friend play ideas. I have tried to group them into two sections – your pocket friends or rock pets and your Rock Games (such as tic tac toe – of which there are MANY variations).
Rock Pocket Friends, Rock Animals and Rock Character Crafts
- Let start off with our little Stone Pets – I love how they come complete with their own match box houses. No painting needed!
- We have always loved to play with our 5 little stone ducks – great to play with, count and sing!
- Painting Lady Bird Stones is a childhood classic in my eyes, cute, easy and fun. Watch my 5yrs old teach you how!
- similary the kids will love these pet hedgehogs by Easy Peasy and Fun
- Go Bananas, with this Despicable Me3 Minions by Non Toy Gifts
- Cute little Rock Mouse by I Heart Crafty Things
- Adorable SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE Painted Snails (mess free!) Kids Craft Room
- More fluffy rock pets by The Craft Train
- Love these YARN WRAPPED Rock Monsters – a great idea if you are avoiding paint by Easy Peasy and Fun
- I also like these Finger Knitted Hair Rock Faces by Hellowonderful – it is great to see some rock crafts that don’t require paint to be simply wonderful.
DIY Games made from Rocks & Story Stones
- Make use of the handy free printable to recreate these easy Frozen Story Stones
- Rock Vegetables for Pretend Play
- We do love this classic DIY Tic Tac Toe Game from Rocks our version are birds and bees, perfect for summer, but of course any design would look lovely.. (see the animal rocks above.. the combination of any of these would look great)
- This Flaming Rock Puzzle is great for summer, by Hellowonderful
- Love the clever trick used to make these Colour Dominoe – even the preschoolers could join in!
- Simply adore this Stone Road and Cars Play Set how wonderfully tactile and pretty to boot. We would love playing with these all afternoon.
- Easy peasy story stones made using STICKERS by Fireflies and Mudpies
- Make your own campfire by Box of Ideas – this would per perfect for pretend play during the summer holidays
- Reversible Flower Rocks – great for colour games and counting by Mother Natured
Wearable Rock Crafts for Kids
Next we have a set of ingenius ways to WEAR your Rocks! And they do not involve specialist stone cutting tools. Find out more here! Love these Easy Rock Jewelry Ideas.
- Make some easy Stone pendants
- The pendants would work wonderfully with these simple Stone Owls too (a nice and easy process so younger kids can manage making these too) or check out these darling owls on Instagram
- Similarly we have some fun Strawberry Rock Rings
- Love the idea of how to turn rocks into pendants by Handmade Charlotte the colourful yarn will make ANY rock from a special holiday memorable
- Similarly use wire to make a quick and easy “stone” clasp by Alice and Lois
Decorative Rock Crafts for Kids
We do love decorative rock crafts – whether you are brightening up a window sill, making paper weights for you desk or have a lovely interactive rock display, here are some great rock decor DIYs, that will remind you of your holidays!
- Shell & Stone Windchime
- Kandinsky Inspired Rainbow Rocks
- ADORE these Koi Fish Rocks – the scales are ingenius by Make it Your Own
- These galaxy painted rocks are just devine by Color Made Happy
- Try your hand at Dip Dyed Rocks by Twitchetts
- These happy cactus rocks would look adorable decorating your windowsill, by The Best Ideas for Kids
- More grogeous Cactcus Rocks by Inner Child Fun
- Adore the Fairy Stone Village by Thinly Spread these would great as a decorative craft OR to play with (and of course would make a great gift too!)
Rock Crafts You Can Give
We love crafts that you can give. Homemade gifts are always special.. and there are a number of ways you can turn a rock into a gift. Our favourite has to be the rock paper weights, but the picture holders are gorgeous too.
- Fingerprint Heart Friendship rocks! Nothing quite says I love you or BFF like these. SO SO sweet!
- Rock Vegetable Garden Plant Markers
- One of our favourite and easy Gifts to make – Crayon Rock Paper Weights – the process is super fun and the results fabulous
- Little gifts of LOVE, with these quick and easy Glitter Heart Rocks – a lovely little gift to pop in your pocket and be reminded that you are loved!
- Make some easy Stone pendants
- Turn rocks in to colourful rock picture holders, byBuggy and Buddy
- Possibly my favourite Garden Plant Markers these are just soooo fun and jolly! BRILLIANT. Though we have a nice and easy version of simple Garden Planters here!
- Mentioned above, I think this Fairy Stone Village by Thinly Spread make a great gift idea too! These would look great as paper weights or to decorate your garden.
Love crafting with nature? If you are looking for more great easy nature crafts for kids – here are is a fantasic collection:
Hope you enjoyed our easy rock crafts for kids and found lots of inspiration for your summer stone finds!