Painted rocks spread kindness and love—and encourage your child’s creativity too

Recently, my son and I were playing at the park when he noticed something interesting. There was a cute little painted rock with an uplifting message clearly and quite lovingly written by a kiddo about his age. My son was delighted and wanted to make his own. Suddenly we were hopping on the Kindness Rocks Project bandwagon.

Back at home, my son put the rock in a safe space in his room. Then we got to brainstorming ways to pay it forward by making painted rocks and leaving them in new, creative places. I mean the whole gist of the idea is to spread kindness and love—and I want my boy to be someone who does just that.

If your kiddo is interested too, here’s how you can create your own kindness rocks:

What you need to get started

You will needs rocks, acrylic paint (it withstands the weather the best), paintbrushes, an old t-shirt or art apron and maybe some glitter or sealer if you are feeling up for it! ✨

I’ve seen the rocks range from small to large in size. Most hobby stores carry rocks or you can search your yard for a few. Just be sure to give them a good cleaning before applying paint!

Design ideas for your painted rocks

Set aside an afternoon, spread some newspaper out on a table and get busy painting! Encourage your little one to get creative with their favorite sayings, characters or designs. This isn’t about perfection, but just having fun and creating something that spreads joy.

Some cute rocks I’ve seen include ones decorated with ladybugs, states (to show how far the rock has traveled), rainbows and even googly eyes. Of course my little guys like to add his own creative touches, but he did paint one that resembled the American flag that was pretty cute! ?

Where to hide painted rocks

When it comes to hiding the rocks, most public spaces are considered fair game—as long as it is in a safe area and not disturbing a business or causing any harm. Avoid grassy areas as well, as rocks could be hard to find or potentially be dangerous to lawn mowers. A few hiding places that have a been a hit in our town are:

• Parks
• Schools
• The Arts Council
• Outside of family restaurants
• Outside the library
• Around the city square
• Rest stops
• Farmers market
• Roadside attractions
• Grocery store parking areas

Spread the rocks—and the love—around

For painted rocks, the rule of thumb is to keep the first one you find as a keepsake and re-hide the others you come across. If you want to keep a memento of the others, many people take photos and post them to local rock-finding Facebook pages—so be sure to check if your community has one! This is also a fun way to start a little treasure hunt.