After the success of our Wheels On The Bus Story Stones I have been wanting to create some more. When we saw Crafty Kids At Home was hosting an A-Z of Pretend Play I jumped at the chance to use S is for Story Stones. Our love for story stones increased further when we discovered a book called “Hiku” by Nicole Snitselaar and Coralie Saudo.
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In the wonderfully illustrated book “Hiku” is a penguin with a heart shaped waistcoat who sneaks away from an important family visit. Each penguin that appears in the story is made from a pebble. Taking inspiration from the story we created our own Hiku Penguin Story Stones along with a Hiku Sensory Bin.
Even with my zero artistic ability I was able to turn our pebbles into penguins.
I used two types of stones – the large ones came from the garden and the small ones were white decorative garden stones. The process took a long time but that was because I only painted them in the evenings when Adam was in bed and waited 24 hours in between each step:
- Paint one side of each stone in black acrylic paint
and place it on a baking tray with baking paper.
- Paint the other side of each stone
- Paint a circle for the tummy using white acrylic paint
- Use a cylinder lolly stick, dip it in the white paint and create two white eyes
- Dip the end of a thin paintbrush into the black paint and create a pupil in each eye
- Use orange acrylic paint
to create a triangular beak
- Use the other end of the cylinder lolly stick, dip it in the orange paint and make three joined up circles for each penguin foot
- Cover one side of the penguin in watered down PVA glue
- Cover the other side in watered down PVA glue.
Writing it down does make it sound harder than it actually was! I thoroughly enjoyed the process and Adam loved seeing the difference in the penguins each morning.
With our penguin story stones completed I set about creating a penguin sensory bin for Hiku and his family. For our last penguin sensory bin I used a range of cotton wool balls, ice and foam soap. This time I kept the same white Ikea Trofast storage box which was still decorated in penguin Duck Tape
but used edible white materials for the sensory bin base.
I decorated the edge with mini meringue shells, created igloos out of large marshmallows (300g) and added 150g of mini mallows to fill the bottom of the sensory bin. Finally I added our penguin story stones.
I love how each penguin story stone is different. Their personalities shine through. Some look mischievous, others shy and a few turned out to be quite odd looking! Adam recognised Hiku’s heart shaped tummy immediately. He liked to move the small penguins around the sensory bins and helped them make marshmallow towers and we even had a mini mallow snow ball fight!
Our penguin story stones will be making several future appearances on the blog.
NB: Although the sensory bin base was edible I know that Adam would not attempt to eat either the sweets or the penguin stones. I have classed this activity as needing adult supervision due to the risk of choking.
Equipment:
* Hiku by Nicole Snitselaar and Coralie Saudo
* Stones – we used white decorative garden stones
* Black, orange and white acrylic paint
* Watered down PVA glue
* Box – we used a white Ikea Trofast storage box and decorated it with penguin Duck Tape
* White edible materials – we used large marshmallows, mini mallows and mini meringue shells
Remember to check out the other A-Z of Pretend Play activities:
You May Also Like:
- Penguin Sensory Bin
- Penguin Hooks
- Wheels on the bus story stones
Wow, all of those fab penguins took serious dedication! They look fab and I’m sure you’ll think up lots more fun activities for them! Thanks so much for taking part in our A-Z of Pretend Play.
The process sounds harder than it was and I could have made it quicker but I was enjoying the process! Thank you for hosting a brilliant series.
What a fab sensory bin that continues a story. Those penguins are cute and I love the idea of Adam helping them have a snowball fight!
Thanks for linking #LetKidsbeKids
Thank you – we can’t resist a cute penguin or a snow ball fight!
This is so creative! I bet Adam loved playing with this. I love sensory bins and story stones so this combination is amazing. The stones do look really artistic. What a clever idea! x #letkidsbekids
Thank you – believe me I am not a creative person! They were just so easy to make.
This looks super cute! My mummy loves penguins. Next time it’s raining we are so staying in and doing this activity!! Thanks for sharing! #LetKidsBeKids
Tell mummy I can’t wait to see how she gets on. Have fun!
I love your penguins think they look really sweet, I love all the different shapes and sizes.
Thank you! I love how each penguin looks completely different!
The penguins are adorable! These are great for pretend play and small worlds!
This looks and sounds fantastic. I’d like to know though at what age you’d advise activities like this are saved for?
Oh they are so sweet! I love that you spent so much time building up a story stone sensory bin for him, I’ve been meaning to make different story stones too, but I absolutely love your penguins. O loves marshmallows, so I doubt our sensory bin would last long if I put them in! 🙂 x
Such an inspiring book! & I love the painted stones. I think my kids will finished off the marshmallows in no time! lol! #letkidsbekids
We haven’t come across this book, Hiku. But because of this activity, I think we might go look for it and do the activity! It’s just too cute! Thanks for sharing on Toddler Fun Friday.
waouh ! What a great job !
Bravo !
Those penguins are so cute! And how wonderful for Adam, Such fun being able to help them have snowball fights! Thanks for linking to #MBFSL