R Week- Rainbow Rock Hunting

Trip enjoys playing with the rocks in our driveway, so I decided to paint some of the larger ones for R week. I went outside, found seven rocks, washed the dirt off of them, put them back outside to quickly dry in the sun, and then got to painting. I put two coats of paint on a few of the rocks, but they don't have to be perfect since they are to use outside. I used acrylic paints because they are more resistant to water and wear than many other paints. Spray paint would work well too and would be even faster. Although I chose a rainbow of colors (so that we could work on their names), this game could still be played if all of the rocks were the same color. The rocks could also be wrapped in aluminum foil or colored tissue paper.

When we were ready to play, I placed the colored rocks back in the gravel driveway. I left some of them in plain sight,

while others were slightly hidden.

Trip enjoyed eating his frozen squeezable yogurt while looking for colored rocks. I had to point out the first couple, but then he got the idea and found most of the others on his own.

Sometimes, I just let him find the rocks. Other times, I put them close to each other and ask him to find a certain color. There are a few color names that he knows well and others that he's still practicing. This game utilizes an object and a location that Trip enjoys, which makes it more fun and helps build all of those great connections in his brain.