Story Stones

  This is an oldie I found in my to-be-published posts that never got to the live stage. That is my way of explaining the photos! :)

       I love the idea of story stones (smooth rocks with pictures on them to spark the imagination and encourage storytelling). I had a super-active imagination as a child and I'd like Kay to develop a strong one too. 

   There are some absolutely beautiful versions floating around the web - hand-drawn and hand-painted, magazine cut-outs sealed on with Mod Podge. Well, until I started reading blogs I'd never even heard of Mod Podge and I've still never used it. So I wanted to try something even easier. Our story stones were made with:

• smooth stones from the dollar store (I picked out the flattest ones)
  
• tacky glue
  
• pictures cut from workbooks

   The most difficult part of the whole process was finding pictures that would fit on the rocks. But with a little trimming here and there we managed. I glued them on with tacky glue, and then used another coat of glue on top of the picture to seal it on. 

    I also tried using large glass gems (also from the dollar store). The black-and-white illustrations look best with these. I was satisfied with them but I asked the expert (she's 4 and knows everything, of course!) and she preferred the rocks. Since they were for her, I acceded to her wishes. 

  These are so easy (and inexpensive!) to put together that you can change them every once in awhile to spark new stories. Kay mostly likes listening while I make up stories, but she does play with the stones in her dollhouse. 

  Welcome to the Hands-On Play Party! See what my co-hosts have been up to this week and check out the linky below too. You can follow along with more hands-on play ideas on the Pinterest board. Lots of great ideas to be shared, so let's get started!

                                                        Birdseed Sensory Bin from Stir the Wonder                                                                                              7 Simple Sensory Play Ideas with Ice from Lemon Lime Adventures