When Travis was little, there was a fire pit in our apartment complex filled with rocks, and he could literally spend hours standing at the edge and playing with them. Sorting them, taking them out, tossing them back in again, finding favorites, you name it. I lament sometimes that Veronika doesn’t have access to the same great game! So today, we brought some rocks inside to play.

After a walk at a nearby garden, we returned home with a big bounty of rocks. Make sure that you choose ones that are too big to be a choking hazard, but not so heavy that they’ll hurt a little toe if dropped.

First we gave our rocks a bath! Veronika loved swirling them in a little tray filled with soapy water, and helping pat them dry.

I then gave her a few buckets that she could transfer them into. She loved taking them in and out.

Next she started to fill her dress-up purse with the rocks…

…and even headed off for a walk with her rocks tucked inside!

For some artsy fun, we then pulled out paints and I showed her how to dab at the rocks with a paintbrush.

This was good fun…

…until she decided it was more fun to paint her hands, of course.

I let the paint on the rocks dry and set them aside for later use, because I know we’re far from done with them. There will be lots more rock play in Veronika’s future!