Looking for an easy Memorial Day craft or 4th of July craft for kids that doesn’t need fancy supplies? This patriotic painted rocks craft is simple, colorful, and perfect for a summer afternoon outside.
Kids get to collect rocks, paint them red, white, and blue, and turn them into little patriotic decorations for the porch, garden, picnic table, or backyard BBQ.
Materials
- Smooth flat rocks
- Red, white, and blue acrylic paint
- Paintbrushes
- Paint pens or markers
- Paper plate or paint tray
- Water cup
- Paper towels
- Clear sealant spray, optional
How to Make Patriotic Painted Rocks
- Have kids search for smooth, flat rocks. Wash off any dirt and let the rocks dry completely before painting.
- Choose a base color for each rock. Paint some rocks blue, some white, and some red. Let the first layer dry before adding designs.
- Once the base paint is dry, add simple designs like stars, stripes, fireworks, dots, hearts, flags, or the letters “USA.” For younger kids, dots and lines are perfect. Older kids can try flags, fireworks, or more detailed patterns.
- Use white paint pens to add stars on blue rocks, red stripes on white rocks, or little firework bursts. Paint pens make the details much easier than a tiny brush.
- Place the finished rocks on a tray or piece of cardboard and let them dry completely.
- If you want to place the rocks outside, spray them with clear sealant. Adults should do this step outdoors.
- Add the patriotic rocks to your garden, front porch, picnic table, or hide them around the yard for a fun 4th of July rock hunt.
Easy Rock Design Ideas
Try painting:
- American flags
- Red, white, and blue fireworks
- Stars and stripes
- “USA” rocks
- Polka dot rocks
- Patriotic hearts
- Simple blue rocks with white stars
Why Kids Love This Craft
This craft feels like a treasure hunt and an art project in one. Kids love choosing their own rocks, making each one different, and seeing their patriotic painted rocks displayed outside.
It’s also a fun fine motor activity that works for toddlers, preschoolers, and big kids.
Play2Learn Toddler & Preschool Programs for Curious Toddlers
There is no limit to your toddler’s energy and curiosity. That energy and curiosity although a joy can be challenging at times. Their interest in just about everything around them is what makes them great learners. One and two year olds can soak up so much just from their senses!
But as a teacher or parent that thirst for learning can be exhausting. That is why I created this toddler and preschooler program. To help you get the most out of this time with your curious toddler without having to come up with creative ways to play and interact with them.
Play2Learn for Toddlers includes 20 Units for toddlers. Each 2-week toddler unit has 20 super easy to set up and engaging activities for toddlers 18 months to 3 years.
Play2Learn Preschool which includes 20 Units for preschoolers. Each 2-week preschoolers unit has 20 unique and easy to set up and engaging activities for preschoolers 3 years to 5 years. That’s over 800 learning activities for your toddler and preschooler at your fingertips! So many ideas you and your child will never be bored again!
These toddler and preschool lesson plans and activities will definitely keep you and your toddler and preschooler busy playing and learning!
Click here for more information: Play2Learn
Book: Exciting Sensory Bins for Curious Kids
Did you know I wrote a book of sensory bins? Click here for more information Exciting Sensory Bin for Curious Kids. Or grab your copy at Amazon.
Boring afternoons are made exciting with awesome animal-based bins, like Salty Shark Bay or Yarn Farm. Pretend play bins like Birthday Cake Sensory Play or Bubble Tea Party encourage creativity and imagination. And your kids will have so much fun they won’t even know they’re getting smarter with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities like Sink or Float Soup, Magnetic Letter Hunt or Ice Cream Scoop and Count.
Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.
Book: Super STEAM Activity Book for Kids
Learning all about science, technology, engineering, art, and math sets kids up for scholastic success―and it can be so much fun! Watch kids enjoy building STEAM skills as they color friendly fish, help water find its way to tree roots, solve math problems with mazes, and more.
Find out more and grab your copy here.
Designed for preschoolers 3 years old and up.
Book: Big Book of Riddles for Kids
Riddle me this: What’s an exciting way to practice critical thinking while having a blast? The Big Riddle Book for Kids, of course! From hilarious puns to tough brain teasers, kids can build problem-solving skills with hundreds of riddles tha. t show them how to think outside the box.
- 350 riddles for kids—Have hours of fun with riddles, puns and jokes, and math and logic puzzles that’ll get their wheels turning!
- Level up their skills—Riddles get trickier as kids progress through the book, challenging them as they get better at solving puzzles!
- Double-check their work—Kids can check their answers in the back of the book with a handy answer key.
Help children expand their minds while having fun with this puzzle book for kids!
Designed for kids ages 6 years old and up.
TV Show: Curious Crafting
I’m so excited to share my crafting TV show Curious Crafting which launched in July 2022 on TVOkids and TVOkids YouTube! Season 2 aired in August 2023! My show was also nominated in 2023 for Best Live Action Preschool Series by the Youth Media Alliance Awards of Excellence.
Curious Crafting Season 1 is also now airing in Australia on ABC! Watch it here!
Set in the ultimate crafting space, Curious Crafting is a short form pre-school age series about the joy of making crafts. I lead a rotating cast of adorable little preschoolers (including my own) making magic out of common household objects.
In each episode we transform recycled items into magical crafts like a milk carton school bus, paper bag puppet or cotton pad turtle. The crafters learn and laugh their way through each activity while demonstrating what their young imaginations can create.
Curious Crafting shares the adventure and joy of making art with takeaway lessons for creating crafts at home.
This show designed for toddlers and preschoolers 2.5 years old and up.
