Name: Chrissy
Location: United States

Non-working mom of two girls under two years old. I'm always on the look-out for new activities to engage my daughters in. Here you'll find some of the activities that we've enjoyed together. Have any suggestions for toddler fun? I'd love to hear from you! Email me at chrissy(at)toddlebits (dot)com.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Unplugged Project: Rockin' Out

Here is our first attempt at participating in the Unplugged Project weekly blog carnival hosted by Unplug Your Kids.

Since I was drawing a blank with what to do for this week's theme, which was rocks, I did a good ol' Google search and came across this.

Perfect! A rock garden seemed just right for a toddler.

So, off we went to Grandma's house to collect some nice rocks!

Collecting Rocks

We didn't have to go far...Grandma's driveway has plenty to choose from!

With Bucket

Here is Little Bit with her shiny red rock collecting pail (i.e. leftover Valentine's Day bucket).  She's starting to lose interest at this point.

Mommy Collecting Rocks

So, I helped her out a bit!

Washing Rocks 2

Once we had enough rocks we brought them inside for a good scrubbin'. I can tell she'll make an excellent dishwasher one day (yes, I'm ready to start delegating chores).

Rocks 014

Back at home we got our supplies together to paint the rocks. Little Bit couldn't wait to get started!

painting rocks 

And the painting commenced.

Planting Rocks

Once the rocks were dry, we "planted" them in a nearby flowerbed.

Planted Rocks

Tadaaa! Here we have a very blurry picture of our completed painted rock garden!

 

I really enjoyed this project. We were able to stretch it out over the span of a few days with each step being nice and short...perfect for a toddler's attention span! And, we got to spend time outside in the beautiful weather we had this week...awesome!

I can't wait to see what next week's theme will be. Sound like fun? Come join us!

 

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10 Comments:

At March 30, 2008 11:16 PM , Blogger Michie said...

I'm glad you joined us this week! I actually thought about painting rocks too, but we still have some snow out there, so it isn't perfect weather for rock collecting. I like how you made the project last over a few days, working with her attention span. That's something I could work on too. :)

 
At March 31, 2008 3:22 AM , Blogger BChsMamaof3 said...

What a cute rock garden :) We painted rocks to by making rock sculptures :) I love the part in the article you linked to about showing your toddler how much fun it can be to collect rocks if they don't like to. Ha! If only mine didn't collect rocks all the time. I find them in the strangest places, most commonly the bottom of the washing mashine when I've forgotten to check a pocket *grin* Thanks for sharing,
Nature Mama
www.homeschoolblogger.com/NatureNotesFromAbove

 
At March 31, 2008 7:08 AM , Blogger Kristi said...

We did one of these last summer. It was fun. Thanks for the reminder...we'll have to do it again when it finally gets warmer here, if ever. Cute rocks.

 
At March 31, 2008 8:20 AM , Blogger Piseco said...

I'm glad you joined in too! I've also found myself stretching activities over the days - and my BabyGirl enjoyed the same things your Little Bit did - especially the washing! :)

 
At March 31, 2008 12:34 PM , Blogger Mom Unplugged said...

Welcome to the Unplugged Project! I am so glad that you joined us this week!

It looks like Little Bit had a lot of fun with it. That's wonderful! I'm glad you were able to break it up over a few days to suit Little Bit's attention span.

I have experimented with more specific themes, but I prefer to pick a really general theme for the project to encourage a variety of different creations and also to make it very adaptable to different age groups.

I'm glad you had fun and I hope you'll join us next week too!

 
At March 31, 2008 1:44 PM , Blogger Jenny said...

That is such a great idea! And the rocks are very cute and lovely addition.

We have a lot of yard work to do this week, so this will be a pefect project for my two little ones to do!

Thanks for the idea!

 
At March 31, 2008 4:41 PM , Blogger Heather said...

I Love the rock Garden idea. That is really fun. I can not wait to see your project for next week.

 
At March 31, 2008 9:30 PM , Blogger Mom and Kiddo said...

Such a good idea to extend the project over several days. We should try that.

 
At April 2, 2008 7:18 AM , Blogger Shawn said...

Oh, I love this! LOVE this. I'm just discovering Unplugged but its' right up my alley so I'm all over it next week! Great to meet you!

 
At April 2, 2008 1:31 PM , Blogger Jenny said...

What a fun project! I think my daughter would have enjoyed painting the rocks more than just coloring them with chalk- I'll have to remember that. :o)

 

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