I know, just what you need, right? Yet another activity for your already-overwhelmed kids to do while you are all quarantined due to CoVid-19. This one is so easy, though, I promise. Zero prep! And it could have some extended educational returns, depending on how your kids respond to it.
I’ll be honest. I was way more excited about this activity than the kids were. If it was up to them, they would sit inside and play Minecraft and watch Youtube all day long. BUT – we did make it happen and they learned something! Huzzah!
First off, I did not come up with the idea of being a “Rock Detective.” It’s the name of this video on Youtube that does a really great job of explaining how rocks “tell a story” and you, the detective, have to figure it out.
The video is short. Around 5 minutes. Totally doable for {easily bored, short-attention span} elementary age kiddos. We watched the video and then had a brief discussion about the three main types of rocks: I called them Sandy Sedimentary, Mooshed Metamorphic, and Icky Oozy Igneous. Those were my names because, let’s face it, I need more help remembering this stuff than the kids do. But, talking about the types like that really helped us remember what to look for when out finding the rocks.
Sandy Sedimentary rocks are formed by multiple layers of sand settling into each other over the years; they develop layers, or lines of sediment. Mooshed Metamorphic are those rocks that have been stretched, pulled, folded, or mooshed by some external pressure. Icky Oozy Igneous is rock that has been formed by lava/magma. I’m sure others have more scientific ways of describing this, but these basic word pictures worked for me.
After we had that quick 2-minute review, I loaded up the kids and took them 2 miles down the road to a trailhead that eventually crosses a dry stream-bed. I hoped we’d be able to find a variety of cool rocks and at least make some attempt to guess which type of rock they were.
Our boys were way more interested in climbing ON the rocks than they were in looking at them. I was tempted to say, “Get down here and find some rocks with me!” Instead, I just asked, “do you know what kind of rock you’re on right now?” then left them to puzzle that while I spent a glorious half-hour wandering around by myself. I have no idea if I ID’d any rocks right but I felt a little smarter as I examined them, so there was that.
I also found a bird’s nest, discovered some hibernating crickets, and we stumbled across the remnants of a deer carcass on our way back to the car. It felt like quite the adventure.
If you have any sort of natural area around you that has rocks, take an afternoon to become a rock detective. This is knowledge that will come in handy no matter where you are and can help connect you and your family to the natural world at another level. Knowing and naming nature helps you claim it in a deeper, more personal way. If you want to expand on this activity, you can have your kids write from the perspective of a rock, telling the story of how they were formed. You could have your kids collect the different kinds of rocks and use them to make a design in your yard. You could paint rocks with fun colors or sayings and leave them around your neighborhood. You could come up with silly rock jokes or sayings like, “I lava you very much;” or “You rock my world!”
The thing with any kind of lesson is to engage the kids. Who cares if they remember all the details or facts? There is time for that in the future. Right now, we are just trying to get them to love nature, to interact with it, to play with the information and ideas we are giving them. Skipping rocks across the stream? great! climbing rocks? awesome! Building a cairn? send us a picture!
Tell us what other easy, fun activities you are doing with your kids outside these days!
