Writing Stones

If you saw my Facebook post earlier, you probably already knew this! I saw this idea on Pinterest weeks ago, bought the materials and got started on the clip art images... and then life happened! The materials got pushed to the side. The "Stones" (the document with my pictures! Clever hugh?!) got exited and new products took its place! Yay for 1st Grade Math Posters and Pre-Primer Sight Word Activities! :D

After a crazy busy week in Vermont... and then Relay for Life on Friday night, I needed a project that wouldn't tax my mind! I literally felt like a truck had run over me!

The first place where the Deceleration was read and debated

Relay for Life 2014! This was my 4th year walking! 

Soooo.... I had the hubby print of my pictures (his work has a color printer... shhh! Don't tell!). I got my materials back out... and put together my favorite resource so far!! :D I am SO SO excited to use these in my classroom this year!

Working in Special Education gives me the pleasure of running small groups in various subjects and grade levels! This past year I had a Writing group that really pushed me! We were working on basic skills and thinking outside the box! I found great creative writing prompts, and we worked on them several times each month! They struggled to think creatively and I think part of that was due to how abstract some of the prompts were. I needed something that they could grasp and something that they see (or could see) every day!

Enter Writing Stones (or Story Stones!)

First, I had the tedious job of cutting out every single cute little picture I chose. Needless to say, they weren't very cute by the time I was done! :P

Cute pictures

Not so cute pictures!

Next, I got my rocks (purchased from the Dollar Tree! Ya... that store pretty much rocks!) and spread them out... all over the table. 

Rocks from the Dollar Tree

The hubby was less then thrilled, and the munchkin turned stealing them into a game! He's too darn cute to be mad at... Seriously...

He is too cute for his own good! :D

Then, I matched up my pictures with a rock close in size!

After all of the pictures where matched with the perfect rock (which conveniently lead to another Dollar Tree run and some sweet checker boards that I have plans for as well as some new pool toys!), the fun part came!

MODGE PODGE!!! (I'm still not sure how you spell this... I've seen it 3 different ways!)

I do not live in a town with a craft store (WHOMP) or a store that carries the name brand stuff (WHOMP WHOMP) and I wasn't about to buy it online! Soooo... I made my own... and it worked PERFECTLY!!

                           Glue an water... Easy Peasy!!                 MODGE PODGE!!

I followed the directions at WikiHow and got exactly what I needed! :D Seriously glue and water! So easy!

Finally, I put the rocks together! The first one I did, I just slapped the picture on there... dabbed some modge podge and said SWEET! ... and then the picture curled up... Not to sweet... I discovered that the MP had to be placed on the bottom and the top! Once I got my system down, it went pretty fast!

Here is the step-by-step... using visuals... Because everyone learns better with a visual! :D

 Lay your picture next to the rock

 Cover the rock with Modge Podge

 Place the picture on the rock

Cover the rock/picture with modge podge!

Smooth out the bumps and wipe of the extra! 

and... Voila! DONE! :D

After the first coat dried, I was a little nervous that the paper would peel off after the first few uses. I decided they needed something more! I tried a clear coat of nail polish... but some of the colors bled a tiny bit. I settled on another coat of modge podge, and I think that will do the trick! 

I still have a few left to do, but overall I couldn't be happier with how these turned out! While I am not ready for school to start back up... little things like this make me excited! :D

I am sure there are tons of ways to use these! My Facebook followers gave me a few more creative ideas! My plan is to use them once a week! I will have my kiddos grab 3-4 rocks and write a story (or a few sentences, depending on how it goes) about the pictures they get! They will need to include them all! :D

I will keep you posted on how these work once school starts! I have a few ideas in my head on how to adapt and make this into a resource for you as well! :D