The other day when Adam was playing with his Penguin Story Stones he kept trying to stack the penguins on top of each other. It looked like a penguin cairn. The activity got me thinking about different style cairns we could create. A Stack A Stone Rainbow instantly came to mind.
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Creating the activity was straightforward, although time consuming. I took twelve stones and stacked them to make two cairns. It was important that the stones could actually stack on top of each other. I then painted the stones using colours of the rainbow using red paint for the biggest stone. I know there are actually seven colours of the rainbow but try as I may I couldn’t get seven stones to stack on top of each other!
I used a set of acrylic paint tubes to paint the stones. Each stone needed at least two coats of paint on each side. The yellow stone required several more coats. I varnished each stone with a layer of Mod Podge glue
. This stops the paint chipping or being scratched off when the stones rub together.
I gave Adam the rainbow coloured stones and we talked about the colours found in a rainbow. I then demonstrated how to stack the rainbow stones. Through previous experience I knew that Adam would get frustrated during this activity. During my demonstration I therefore knocked the stones down several times accidentally. I wanted to show Adam that it was ok if the stones fell down and that part of the activity was to keep trying. He giggled every time the stones fell down and told me to keep trying.
Our stones formed two Stack-A-Stone Rainbows. One used rounded stones whereas the other used flat stones. Adam certainly found the flat stones easier to stack. The activity certainly tested his fine motor skills and his ability to persevere whenever the stones fell down.
Our Stack-A-Rainbow stones will certainly be used time and time again!
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
Rainbow in a Bag – No Mess Art // Powerful Mothering
Rainbow Letters Race to the Top // Stay at Home Educator
Color and Shape Match Up // Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails
Stack a Stone Rainbow // Adventures of Adam
Rainbow Pasta Threading // Play and Learn Everyday
Rainbow Tinker Tray // Still Playing School
How to Flip a Rainbow | Simple Science for Kids // Lemon Lime Adventures
Rainbow Sun Craft // Fairy Poppins
Rainbow Pencil Control Exercises // Sugar Aunts
Beginning Sound Rainbows // Playdough to Plato
DIY Rainbow Crayon Names // Pre-K Pages
Rainbow Puzzle Skip Counting // Creative Inclusion
Rainbow Bear Color Matching Game // Life Over Cs
Rainbow Marble Painting Process Art // Preschool Inspirations
DIY Paper Plate Loom: Rainbow Yarn Art // Sugar Spice and Glitter
Rainbow Sight Words // The Kindergarten Connection
Rainbow Math with a DIY Abacus // Fun-a-Day
Rainbow Fact Family Board Game // Liz’s Early Learning Spot
Simple Rainbow Sensory Bottle for Kids // Coffee Cups and Crayons
Rainbow Paint Chip Color Match // Modern Preschool
Roll a Rainbow // The STEM Laboratory
(Not Shown) Rainbow Perler Bead Key Ring // Teach Me Mommy
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cute idea. I haven’t used stones with my two before, I can never seem to find any that would work!
#toddlerfunfriday xx
OH MY! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this! I have always wanted to paint rocks with my son..definitely going to give this one a try! I love rainbow theme activities. Thank you for the inspiration.
This is such a simple idea, but definitely so clever! Great hand-eye coordination activity for young kids with the bonus of them learning the colors of the rainbow too!
Such a cute and inexpensive activity. Great idea.
This looks like a lot of fun. I love the creativty and balace it builds.
These look beautiful and great for loose parts play 🙂
these are great! We had a rainbow themed week last week, I never would have thought of this myself!
Thanks for linking up to #ToddlerApprovedTuesday