Creating Kindness Rocks with Kids

Have you heard about the Kindness Rocks movement? The second I read about it, I knew it would be a fun random act of kindness project for kids. I often wonder how much of the negativity in our world our children are aware of. They overhear news stories, hear adults talking over dinner, see injustices done to others on the playground. It’s important to make sure that they are instilled with the value that can be found in bringing joy to others. That’s where this amazing new movement comes in. Kindness Rocks are small rocks that are painted with fun, inspirational pictures or messages and are placed in public areas for others to find. They’re the latest thing in random acts of kindness!

Here’s how you can create Kindness Rocks with your family or in your classroom. You’ll need these supplies:

• Palm-sized, smooth rocks
• Acrylic paint and thin brushes
• Paint pens or permanent marker (optional)
• Clear outdoor sealant spray

Gather your rocks. Look for ones with a smooth side that fit in the palm of your hand. About 3” is the best size. (We got ours from our river rock landscaping.)

Paint the rocks whatever colors you’d like to provide a background for your artwork. Once dry, flip and paint the other side.

Label the underside of the rocks with #TheKindnessRocksProject with either a paint pen or sharpie marker. This allows those who find them to look up the hashtag on Facebook or Twitter.

Now is the fun part! You get to decorate your rocks. Older children can write their own messages with paint pens or permanent markers. Younger children can paint designs for you to write a positive message on top of.

Once the paint is dry, spray the rocks with a clear outdoor sealant spray to protect them from the elements until they are found by others.

Then go for a walk in a few parks, downtown, or anywhere else around your community that gets a large amount of foot traffic. Hide your Kindness Rocks where they can be easily found by passersby. We opted to go to the downtown area of our little city and hide rocks around the library and nearby businesses.

When I had first heard about The Kindness Rocks Project, I looked on Facebook to see if there was a sharing group for my community. I couldn’t believe how many pages and groups there were filled with pictures of people sharing the Kindness Rocks they’d found. After hiding our rocks, I posted on the community page I started with a picture and general location of the rocks so others could track them down. If you want to broaden your audience, share your post on other community pages you are a part of! It’s amazing that so many people are being reached by these small little acts of kindness and inspiration.

Contributing Author:

Andie Jaye is a former preschool teacher turned stay-at-home mom of 3 kiddos. Her blog, Crayon Freckles , focuses on creative learning and play ideas, as well as parenting topics. Andie strives to be honest in her approach and experiences in parenting to let other moms know that they are not alone in their struggle. In her free time, she writes children’s books in hopes of publishing someday.

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