Painted Space Rocks: Turn them over to change the story!

These painted space rocks are perfect if your family has just joined the rock painting craze, or like us, just started. You will probably need a little bit of artistic talent to paint them but honestly if the kids do it themselves they’ll know which is the rocket and which is the planet, it’s you who’ll have to guess them!

Can you tell I made these ones myself?  The girls preferred painting flower petals on rocks again, but they did pop in time and time again to ooo and ahhh over my creations.

Thankfully, they played with them heaps once they were finished.  Space is now something they’re going a little crazy over. Funny that they weren’t even interested to begin with. Mums can make anything cool! *wink*

What’s so special about these painted space rocks?

What sets these space rocks apart isn’t that they are story stones – although that holds your child’s interest for a longer period – but both sides of the rock are painted. That means the story can change in an instant.

Is that a rocket coming toward the astronaut? NO. It’s an alien!

Is that a bright big sun over there? Oh no, it’s a black hole. Ahhhh!

See!? SO MUCH FUN!

Along with fun there’s plentiful learning too.

Space rocks build:

• Creativity
• Space knowledge
• Fine motor skills
• Colour recognition

What you need to make painted space rocks:

• Rocks
• Acrylic paint
• Black backdrop (for play). Use a black sheet or painted cardboard

How to make painted space rocks

1. The first step is to paint all the rocks black (except the planets) and let them dry.
2. Second is to paint your characters, planets and other space items.
3. Once you’ve painted a character on one side, paint something different on the other side (see the picture below).

Here’s a list of space stones you can make

• Planets. Try these Galaxy rocks. This technique would make wonderful planets!
• Moon
• Comets
• Stars
• astronauts
• Black holes
• Meteors
• Shooting stars
• Aliens
• Rocketships
• Space stations
• Satellite

 

Once you and the kids have created your painted space rocks, it’s time to play. Grab a black backdrop, lay out all the space rocks and let them go for it.

Older children could take photos of their scenes and create a short video like we did. The kids just adore watching their space stones come to life.

More rock crafts?

• Rock spider
• Mix and match flower petal rocks