Pretty early on in our son’s life, we started to teach him that picking up rocks was a lot of fun. I like rocks and I feel like that can help anchor you with a sense of place. I have rocks from the beach where I proposed to my wife, canoe trips and, somewhere, even a rock that was slipped into my backpack when I was a canoe guide. I carried that rock for ten days in an act of ill advised bravado.
Our son has taken to picking up rocks and stacking them, calling them a part of his collection and playing with them. When he’s older, we’ll be able to look at rocks together and figure out where they came from. We’ll be able to learn about the earth together.
Sonner than that, I’ll be able to teach him to skip stones (some kids don’t know how to do that anymore) and enjoy looking at water and the splashes that our little rocks make when we don’t quite make it.
For now, though, I’ll just enjoy watching him collect up the rocks, get a bit dirty and have fun outdoors.
Kids and Nature 
Posted by Shannon Simpson on June 27, 2011 at 10:03 am
My little guy sure loves collecting rocks, too; his daddy has taught him well. Makes laundry time slightly hazardous, but I smile to myself with each rock that I remove from a pocket…or from the dryer once the extra-clunky cycle is done.