Kelly, from Wiltshire, sent in this lovely story stone idea. Let’s take a look at it…
What did you do?
I made these story stones for my class a few years ago. I cleaned up some larger garden pebbles but you can buy them from garden centres and decor shops. I then painted the surface with white acrylic paint and left them to dry. Once they were dry I sketched the characters I wanted with pencil (I added familiar book characters and my own ideas too). Then I used a mixture of acrylic paints and sharpies to add colour and make details. I wrote adjectives on the back to aid language development. Once they were complete I coated them in mod-podge to act as a varnish.
I didn’t use a varnish as it may have lifted the sharpie and I didn’t want it to smudge.
I used the stones in my sand tray and the children loved oral storytelling with their characters, objects and settings. An adult worked with the children to modify their stories using the adjectives and really helping them to understand sentence structure. The stones helped children understand what a noun is and how the adjective describes the noun.
It can easily be adapted for any age, around a theme or particular book.
Do you have any other projects planned?
I’ve made wooden spoons similar for storytelling and acting
Tell the Housebound With Kids community a bit about yourself…
I’m kelly @mrsbteachy on Instagram and twitter. I’m 36 and have 3 of my own children. I’m also a primary school teacher with 17 years of education experience.
How are you finding being housebound so far?
My kids are a bit fed up of teacher mummy working and pretty much ignoring them for most of the day. Luckily they are amazing and are so motivated to complete their school work independently.
Do you have any tips for other parents?
Do what suits you. If it’s a battle, is it really worth it? I set my kids 3 targets to complete daily and this is manageable for them and our lifestyle.
