Making Pet Rocks is wonderful for decorating your garden.

Materials:

Collect rounded and flat rocks

Gather all your craft materials, scraps of leather, shells, pom poms, fabric swatches, etc.

Eyes

Mod Podge

Acrylic paints – various colors – small sizes

Paint brushes or sponge brushes

Colored sand

Glitter – various colors

Elmer’s sparkly glue

Drop cloth

Cardboard collapsed box for drying in the sunshine

Confetti

What to do:

Go out collecting with your little one at the beach.  Find that good pile of rounded smooth rocks, they are at every beach!  Get a tote for lugging around all those rocks.  Collect several so you can make many pets.  Remember the Sesame Street episode where they lose their pet “Rocco” and Elmo helps to find him?  Maybe watch this for inspiration about having a pet rock and learning to identify its features and shape.

Once you have your rocks set-up a shady place outside to lay out all of your materials.  Use a drop cloth to keep paint off your patio flooring.  Let your toddler take the lead in how he/she wants to decorate and approach this project.  Just make sure to transfer them to the cardboard for drying in the sun.

Such an easy project but very rewarding for your little one.  Once the pets dry, let them name them, decorate the garden with them or make a special area in the house for them.