Inspiring Kids to Be Kind Using Love Rocks

Most of us hope our children develop a spirit of generosity and love. To that end, I sometimes find myself lecturing my kids on these lessons, and anyone who has children knows that method of communication can only take you so far 🙂 I’ve found play to be a much more effective way to reach, inspire and support our kids in their emotional development. That’s why creating, finding and sharing Love Rocks is a beautiful, unique way to help teach kids about kindness and connection.

What You’ll Need

1. Rocks
2. Paint. We use this Acrylic Eco Paint from Nature of Art for Kids.
3. Mod Podge
4. Paint brushes or paint pens. These oil-based sharpies were gifted to us, and they work great
5. An outdoor space

What You Do

1. Paint and decorate your rocks with messages or images of love (this is a great tutorial on painting rocks!). On the back you can write, “pass it forward” or something to encourage sharing the rock.
2. Protect your rocks from wear by painting them with Modge Podge.
3. Go outside (this could just be in your backyard) and hide all the rocks for your kids to find.
4. Have the kids find and gather the rocks.
5. Sit in circle and share the “Love Rocks” story with them!

“Love Rocks” Talk
This is what I told my kids after they found their rocks, but feel free to make this your own!

Do you know what kind of rock this is? It’s a special rock. It’s a LOVE ROCK!! That means that anyone who finds and plays with this rock will feel special and loved. So, whenever you’re ready, if we’re on the way to the library, grocery store or at the park, you can leave your love rock for someone else to find. The more love rocks are shared, the happier they grow!

Paying it Forward

At any point in the days, weeks or months (when they are ready to part with their rocks), the kids can give away their rocks, hiding them in a public place for others to find.

We’re having a blast sharing our love rocks with the world, and would love to see yours. Take a picture of where you put or found a love rock, post it and tag #loverocks so we can follow along!