Christmas Story Stones
These DIY Christmas Story Stones are easy to make and a fabulous resources to have on hand when story telling with young kids.
There really is no wrong way to make story stones. I’m going to show you how to draw/paint images on your stones. But, I’ll also share some less-artistic ways to make a set of story stones for your preschoolers.
I’ll also share how you can use Christmas-themed story stones in your classroom or homeschool.
There are so many ways to use these Christmas story stones with young children. From sorting to beginning sounds and more, your kids will love learning with these painted holiday rocks.
Christmas Story Stones
While I call these story stones, they really can be used in so many ways. Kids can use them to tell stories, practice beginning sounds and ABC order, sorting practice, and more.
I’ll show you how to make them, and then I’ll show you how you can use them with your kids.
What You’ll Need
You can find river rocks in nature (around a creek), or you can purchase them. I got these rocks at the hardware store.
If you use dark rocks, like the ones pictured, you’ll want a white pencil to draw the images. If you use light rocks, you can use a regular pencil.
To paint your rocks, you can use paint pens or acrylic paint and a thin paint brush. It’s totally up to you.
What You’ll Do
To start, wash and dry your rocks to get rid of any dirt and debris that may keep the paint from sticking. With a pencil, outline your images.
Once you’ve got all of your images drawn, you can begin painting them. I prefer to use paint pens because they’re easier for me to control, but you can use acrylic paints if you wish.
After the first layer of paint is dry, go back and outline each image with a black sharpie or paint pen.
If you’d like to seal your stones, I suggest using matte mod podge. But, wait until the paint is dry before sealing or your images will smear.
HOW TO USE STORY STONES
As I mentioned above, there are so many ways you can use story stones with preschoolers. From story telling to early literacy skills, try these activities with your little ones.
STORY TELLING
Put all of your story stones in a basket. Have your child pick a stone out of the basket and use it to begin a story. Then, choose another stone and add on to that story. This activity can be done individually or in a group setting.
In a group setting, one child chooses a stone and starts the story. Then, another child chooses a stone and adds to the story incorporating the picture on the stone.
Continue until all the stones have been used or all of the kids have contributed to the story.
BEGINNING SOUNDS
Grab a pack of letter magnets or other alphabet manipulatives. Have your say the name of the picture on a stone. Then, find the letter that matches that beginning sound.
SORTING AND GROUPING
Kids can sort and group the stones based on chosen characteristics. Sort people and not-people. Group by main color. Let your child choose a characteristic and then check his work.
ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO CREATE STORY STONES
If you’re not too artistic, you can use stickers, magazine pictures, or old book pages to create the stones. Just glue the image on or stick the stickers on each stone. Then, seal with mod podge.
PRESCHOOL BOOKS ABOUT Christmas
Fill your book basket with a great collection of books about Christmas. Most of these books can be found at your local library or used bookstore.
If you have a hard time finding them, you can order them through my Amazon affiliate links by clicking the images below.
Bear Stays Up for Christmas – Bear’s friends are determined to keep Bear awake for Christmas! So they wake Bear up and have him help them find a Christmas tree, bake cakes, hang up stockings, and sing Christmas songs. Bear stays up—by discovering that giving is one of the best Christmas presents of all!
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever – Meet the Herdmans—they lie, cheat, and love to give clonks on the head. They are, without a doubt, the worst kids in the history of the world. So no one is prepared when this outlaw family invades church one Sunday and decides to take over the annual Christmas pageant.
Christmas in the Big Woods – Christmas has come to the Big Woods of Wisconsin! Laura and her family are excited to celebrate. When Laura’s cousins, aunt, and uncle arrive, they spend their time together eating sweets, playing in the snow, and reading. Their holiday celebrations are full of simple joys.
RESOURCES I LOVE
These handmade, adorable Christmas finger puppets are perfect for Holiday party favors or any play day!
Turn ordinary laundry pins into a fun clothespin Christmas tree ornament that your kids will love hanging on the tree this season.
Related Posts
Tara is the brains behind Homeschool Preschool, where her journey from preschool and public school teacher to homeschooling mom of three fuels her passion for early childhood education. With a blend of expertise and firsthand experience, Tara’s writings offer practical tips and engaging resources to support families in creating meaningful learning adventures at home.