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Nature Play Update: Adding Story Stones

I was first inspired by the story stones I saw at the wonderful Red Bird Crafts but unfortunately I never quite got around to buying some Mod Podge to give it ago. Then SquiggleMum shared a simpler version with permanent markers and liquid paper and I thought, I could do that. Now finally, with our focus on indoor nature play, I have put paint pen to rock and made a simple set of Story Stones.

I chose simple motifs which represent common themes in Immy’s play – an owl, bird, leaf, tree, grapes, apple, strawberry, snail, caterpillar, ladybird, fish, snail, house, wand, bag, and two children.

Instead of introducing them all at once, I chose eight to start with and set them out on the mat for Immy to ‘discover.’ The idea is that I will add one or two new stones each day, hopefully encouraging her oral stories to continue to grow and develop.
I love how simple these are to make and to play, and I love that we can easily add a new stone at any time.

And for more story stones inspiration, check out this post over at I’m a Teacher, Get Me Outside Here.

Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.

Filed Under: Literacy, Toys, Games & Supplies

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Read the comments or scroll down to add your own:

  1. Michelle Cummings says

    July 29, 2010 at 5:18 PM

    I love your simple and cute idea's thanks for this fun reminder.
    ~Michelle
  2. Raising a Happy Child says

    July 29, 2010 at 10:36 PM

    What a wonderful idea - these stones look so pretty!
  3. Jenny H says

    July 30, 2010 at 12:50 AM

    Those are fantastic. I love the idea of encouraging oral story telling this way!
  4. Love Leisl says

    July 30, 2010 at 12:58 AM

    great idea! my two love playing with stones...O I can just hear the squeals of excitement when they would find these :)
    Julie
  5. Sarah says

    July 30, 2010 at 6:00 AM

    These are really pretty...so natural and fun.
  6. amandab says

    July 30, 2010 at 6:11 AM

    Love the idea, and your stones are so pretty :)

    Wonder if we could use some of the shells we collected last week to do the same...
  7. Michele says

    July 30, 2010 at 10:27 AM

    Love these - would love to read some of Immis stories triggered by playing with these if you ever capture them.
    When you say Paint Pen used what exactly? and is is permanent?
  8. Christie - Childhood 101 says

    July 31, 2010 at 1:35 PM

    Thank you for your comments, they have really been popular with Immy so far.

    Amanda - I am sure smooth shells would work.

    Michele - I will most definitely try and capture some stories. I just used permanent paint pens from an art store - they say they are good for glass and metal so I thought they would work well on glossy rocks. So far, so good, and if they do wear off, they are super easy to touch up.
  9. amy says

    August 2, 2010 at 2:58 PM

    These would make a great gift! I'm always looking for toys with more than one purpose. What a great idea!
  10. Rachel says

    August 2, 2010 at 8:05 PM

    These look fascinating! Almost like Rory Cubes! My kids would love them!
  11. Juliet Robertson says

    August 9, 2010 at 11:27 PM

    I've just noticed this post and wanted to thank you for the link to my stones post. All the stones shown have been immensely popular with children of all ages. So they kind of grow up with a child...!
  12. Rebekah @ Justfordaisy says

    September 10, 2012 at 7:26 PM

    Love these! Where did you get the paint pens!? I love your simple linear images...they look fabulous!

Trackbacks

  1. Story-Telling Activities to do with your Kids | Fun Learning Activities for Preschoolers and Kids says:
    June 1, 2011 at 3:42 AM
    [...] take on the story “cubes” are story stones from Childhood 101.  We have stones in our sensory tub, why not give them another purpose!   [...]
  2. Craft Blog » The Drawing On Rocks Round Up says:
    August 8, 2011 at 6:56 PM
    [...] meaning to paint up a collection of rocks for the kids to develop their story telling, inspired by Christie’s Story Stones, hunting around online has lead me to some beautiful ideas and inspiration, honestly, the only [...]
  3. My Little Bookcase | Blog | Activity: Creating Golden Book Story Stones : A love of reading starts with one special story says:
    August 25, 2011 at 7:44 PM
    [...] Stones have been painted and used in story telling for centuries by indigenous cultures. In the past, I’ve seen story stones created for children at Red BirdCraft and Childhood 101. [...]
  4. Story Stones | Bright Purple Polka Dots says:
    November 7, 2011 at 12:22 PM
    [...] as garbage for toy garbage trucks and building materials, but I finally got around to making some story stones [...]
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