If your kids have a collection of rocks or stones collected on their travels, this is super easy idea to make with them. You can make story stones in any theme, but we chose wild animals since we’ve visited a couple of zoos lately so this is a simple way to expand on that topic at home.
This method has to be the easiest way to make story stones. Toddlers and preschoolers can get involved in the entire process, and it gives great results.
To make the story stones you will need:
- A collection of stones. Big flat ones tend to work best
- Stickers to fit with your theme – Ours are from this sticker book (UK / US). I like that these stickers come with real photos rather than
- Mod Podge. Any type is fine – We used this sparkle one (UK / US)
- Paint Brush
I made these with R who has just turned 4, and as I mentioned earlier – it’s super easy.
Look at your stones to see the sizes you have, and pick your stickers for each stone. As you can see, our stones had some drawing on them already – that doesn’t matter, it won’t show up in the final story stone so we just went ahead and reused them.
For each stone, let your child peel off the sticker and stick it on. Once every stone has an animal, then it’s time to add some mod podge.
Paint the mod podge over the entire surface on the front of the stone, and give them at least 20 minutes to dry fully, and you are done! The mod podge will fully seal the sticker to the stone so that it doesn’t peel off during play.
We ended up with a tiger, kangaroo, cheetah, clown fish, tortoise, frog, monkey and rhino. If you have more stones, you could make even more.
Once you’re finished you can use the stones for story telling, for ordering and sorting, or use them on a themed play scene background. The weight of the stones makes them really nice tactile playthings.
More Stone Activities
Activities with Stones at the Beach
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.
What a great idea, so simple
Such a fab simple idea that will give hours of play
This is how we made ours too! There are such beautiful hand-drawn examples out there, but when you can’t draw (I can’t!) stickers are the way to go! 🙂
What a great idea xx def will try it xx
Oh, what a great idea! My son would love this! I painted some rocks, but I never thought to put stickers on them. Pinning!
What a lovely idea. We’ve been collecting stones this week so will give this a go. Thanks! #busydoinglife
I am going to have to do this with my kids! They love painting rocks so this will be the next step! #busydoinglife
Kristen
Love this! We have been collecting stones this holiday and this is a great idea to make them more colourful. #busydoinglife
I love this! I’ve always been a fan of rocks and stickers. This is such a cute idea for crafting and playing later. #busydoinglife
Such a simple and yet super fun idea! I love that you painted them with mod podge too, great way to keep them looking good for longer! Thankyou for sharing this idea with me on #busydoinglife I will definately be doing this with our every growing collection of pebbles! The linky goes live again on Saturday, I’d love you to join in again!