These colorful painted rocks are a great rock painting activity for kids and a fun way to teach children colors.
If you're looking for a fun craft ideas which involve color rocks and rock painting for kids then here is the activity for you! Color rocks are a fantastic idea and a great way to teach children their colors!
Kids do love to paint and this is a great rock painting activity. There are also lots of fun color activities that go alongside these painted rocks! Enjoy!
Jump to:
- 💖 Why You'll Love This Craft
- How to Use Color Rocks With Kids
- Color Activities for Preschoolers and Kindergarten Kids
- Color Mixing Activity For Kids
- 🎨 Supplies Needed
- 🖌️ How To Make Colorful Rocks
- 🖌️ How To Make a Felt Bag for Your Painted Rocks
- 🧑🎨 Expert Tips
- 💭 FAQs
- 🖌️ Related Crafts
- Download Printable
- Colourful Painted Rocks
💖 Why You'll Love This Craft
- Easy to Do and Inexpensive: This craft requires minimal materials—just rocks, paint, and brushes—making it an affordable, easy-to-do activity that’s great for both small and large groups.
- Promotes Patience and Focus: The painting process helps children develop patience as they focus on their artwork, practicing fine motor skills as they carefully paint and decorate the rocks.
- Outdoor Fun and Scavenger Hunts: Once the rocks are painted, they can be hidden in outdoor spaces for a fun scavenger hunt, encouraging kids to explore nature while enjoying their colorful creations.
How to Use Color Rocks With Kids
Kids can have so much fun that they don’t even realize they are learning! Here are a few of our favorite activities to help you use your color rocks at home. Learning through play is the best way to teach kids and these painted rocks are ideal for this! Also be sure to check out this preschool color mixing worksheet for adding a teaching component to this fun activity.
Matching game.
Pull out two painted rocks. Are they the same color? If so, then you've found a match!
Color Activities for Preschoolers and Kindergarten Kids
Find the color.
kids love going on ‘treasure hunts’ searching high and low for colors. This activity can keep them busy for a long time! Have them draw a rock from the bag and send them off to find an object (or objects) that match their colorful painted rocks.
If you are doing multiple items, it is a great way for them to practice their counting too!
Color Mixing Activity For Kids
Draw out colors to find out what combinations you will be mixing. Sometimes they are odd ones, but nevertheless, they are fun to create. This is a great early science activity to do with kids.
What colors do you think will be created? What do you notice every time you add white or black to a color?
Will the colors get lighter or darker. Early scientific method use at it’s finest!
🎨 Supplies Needed
- Rocks
- White acrylic paint
- Acrylic paint of your choice of colors
- Black Sharpie marker
- Mod Podge
- Paint brushes
- Yarn
- Thick upholstery style needle
- 2 pieces of felt
- Hot glue
🖌️ How To Make Colorful Rocks
- Step 1: Collect your rocks! The number of rocks will depend on how many colors you wish to have. I did rocks in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, brown, black and white. Because I wanted the kids to be able to play the matching game, I made two of each color for a total of 20 rocks. Wash the rocks and let them dry. Kids love to help with this!
- Step 2: Once the colorful rocks are dry, paint them white. This is optional, but it makes a HUGE difference in making the color rocks nice and bright. Paint the rocks in your choice of colors. I like to do two coats of paint on my rocks for a nice shiny look.
- Step 3: Once the colorful rocks are dry, use a Sharpie to write out the color words on the rocks. This is an optional step, but seeing the words written with the words is a great visual for early learners.
- Step 4: Seal with a thin layer of Mod Podge. This will keep the paint from chipping and help to protect through lots of play! Plus, it gives them a nice shiny look!
- Step 5: Let dry. Your rocks are ready to play!
🖌️ How To Make a Felt Bag for Your Painted Rocks
- Step 1: Choose a color of felt for the bag and one for your decoration.
- Step 2: Lay your ‘bag’ color felt landscape ways (hamburger) on your table. Fold the top part down about 1 ½ inches. Pin into place.
- Step 3: Using yarn (or you can use embroidery floss or regular thread) sew across the top creating a little flap.
- Step 4: Cut a long piece of yarn about 1 ½ times the length of your bag. Tie the ends together to make one long loop.
- Step 5: Slide the loop of yarn inside the flap, folding the felt over the yarn.
- Step 6: Stitch the flap down making sure not to stitch the yarn into place. This will become your drawstring.
- Step 7: Fold the piece of felt together (hotdog style!)
- Step 8: Decorate the bag however you wanted. We cut out paint ‘blobs’, a paintbrush and letters to write the words colors on our bag. But the decorations are up to you! Hot glue your decorations in place on the front of the bag.
- Step 9: Starting inside the bag, just underneath the drawstring area that you stitched, stitch around the sides and bottom of the bag leaving the top open. I did a blanket stitch, but you can use any stitch!
- Step 10: Add your rocks inside.
💡 Pro Tip: Experiment with color families—like pastels, neons, or primary tones—to turn your rocks into themed collections for games or decor!
🧑🎨 Expert Tips
- Select Rocks with Visual Balance: Choose stones that have an even surface area on both sides so kids can handle them easily while painting or drying.
- Prep with a Microfiber Cloth: Wipe each rock with a dry microfiber cloth before painting to remove fine dust that can affect how smoothly the paint spreads.
- Map Designs with Chalk: Lightly sketch your design in chalk as a temporary guide—it’s erasable, visible, and easier for kids to follow than pencil.
- Paint in Two Short Sessions: Break painting into two shorter sessions instead of one long one to help children stay focused and allow drying between layers.
- Use a Turntable for Control: Place rocks on a small spinning tray or turntable to help rotate them gently while painting detailed areas without smudging.
- Dry on Elevated Racks: Let finished rocks dry on a cookie rack or mesh tray to avoid sticking or smudging the underside while the paint cures.
💭 FAQs
Working on irregular rock surfaces challenges children to adjust their techniques, fostering flexibility and problem-solving in artistic expression.
Choosing colors for painting encourages children to make independent decisions, enhancing their confidence and critical thinking abilities.
Applying sealant to protect artwork introduces children to the concept of preservation, teaching them how to maintain and care for their creations.
Placing their artwork in communal areas allows children to engage with their community, fostering a sense of contribution and belonging.
Download Printable
Download free Printable Color Mixing Template for your colorful painted rocks activity!
Colourful Painted Rocks
Materials
- Rocks
- White acrylic paint
- Acrylic paint of your choice of colors
- Black Sharpie marker
- Mod Podge
- Paint brushes
- Yarn
- Thick upholstery style needle
- 2 pieces of felt
- Hot glue
Instructions
- 1. Collect an ample amount of rocks that you will need for this craft.
2. Wash the rocks and let them dry. Afterwards, paint them white
3. Paint the rocks in your choice of colors.
4. Use a Sharpie to write out the color words on the rocks.
5. Seal with a thin layer of Mod Podge. This will keep the paint from chipping and help to protect through lots of play.
Your rocks are ready to play!
Rock Painting for Kids can be so fun! We have so many fantastic rock painting ideas here on The Inspiration Edit. You might want to check them out!
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