Another Craft Idea for You and Your Grandchildren

More kindness rocks--same song, second verse!

It's almost spring break. Here's hoping you'll be able to spend some time with your grandchildren on their spring vacation. I came up with something for me and my older grands to do. I call them kindness rocks with a multicultural twist. It's been fun for me, and I hope it will be fun for them when they visit.

As I've written in past blogs, I've really enjoyed painting kindness rocks. It's simple really--just buy a bag of garden rocks at the home improvement store, paint a short message on them, and plant them around your neighborhood on your daily walk. The idea is to make someone's day when they find the rock with a simple image or short phrase of inspiration. Megan Murphy, the founder of the Kindness Rocks Project, said it best, "One message at just the right moment can change someone's entire day, outlook, life." 

So I've been painting kindness rocks, and planting them around town for probably a year and a half. I got rather bored with writing the same old sentiments on the rocks. I remembered when I taught World Cultures in middle school, I did a mini-unit on African wisdom and folk lore. Little bits of wisdom and folk adages from around the world have always intrigued me. So I thought why not put some folk wisdom on my kindness rocks? So there you have the premise for my latest venture. And I think it's a great one to share with my grandchildren. Fun and educational for them too!

Not the whole truth!

I'm not really telling the entire truth about my moment of inspiration. I actually found this African-stylized lion on Pinterest, loved him, and ended up painting him. I decided that he needed a bit of African folk wisdom to go on the back. So there you have my complete motivation. (Insert chuckle here.)

My African-inspired rock with African folk wisdom on the back.

And that's it!

I've had fun researching folk wisdom from around the world, and searching on Pinterest and other sites for just the right image to paint on my rock (it had to be easy, as I'm certainly no artist). I hope it brings a smile to the rock finder's face. It brought some much needed therapy and calmness to my life--that's for sure.

Yes, I love New Mexico and all things Southwestern, so you know I would have to do some rocks with such art and wisdom.

I snapped this photo so you could get an idea of what I wrote on the back of my kindness rocks.

I had fun searching for art that I was able to copy for my Japanese-inspired rocks.

I loved looking for African art for my kindness rocks. Please feel free to copy--that's what I do.

Of course I had to include China!

I've always loved sayings from Confucius. I flipped the rock over for a picture so you can see an example of what I wrote on rocks. This one says, "Confucius say, 'Your life is what your thoughts make it.'"

Finding the folk wisdom and old adages for your rocks~

Of course I just did online searches for my bits of wisdom I wrote on the back of my rocks. When my grands are off for spring break, hopefully we can ride the trolley (part of the fun) to the library, and do a lot of our research there--checking out appropriate books for art ideas as well as folk wisdom.

Here are some I found that might tickle your creative bent:

Native American:

• "An eagle feather brings courage and strength. May it bring both to all in need."
• "Be still and the Earth will speak to you."

Japanese:

• "Even monkeys fall from trees." Meaning we all make mistakes.
• The koi fish is a symbol of courage and strength.
• "Ten people, ten colors." Meaning to each his own.

African:

• "Nobody is born wise." 
• "A certain darkness is needed to see the stars."
• "The axe forgets but the tree remembers."
• "Be a mountain or lean on one." From the Somali.

China:

• "Blessings come in disguise."
• Confucius said, "Your life is what your thoughts make it."
• Confucius said, "Wherever you go, go with all your heart."

Added bonus for seniors? Stress relief of course!

As I was putting this blog together, a friend posted this article on Facebook:
​www.psypost.org/2016/06/skill-level-making-art-reduces-stress-hormone-cortisol-43362?fbclid=IwAR3Spb40wHbaEt_yurINktu4sPam0JD4u75SzUR9FCZBvnSozESp2i_xIG8#.XGzf_eQuJIQ.facebook

The article essentially says what a study at Drexel University revealed, that the hormone cortisol is lowered after about an hour of doing some kind of artwork. Cortisol is that hormone that is responsible for our"flight or fight" response. Cortisol increases in your body when you are under stress. So the implication for grandparents (or all of us really) is that when you do some kind of art or craft, you actually lower your stress. So that's one of the reasons I share painting kindness rocks with you.

Other reasons:

• It's just fun--both the painting and the scattering of rocks for others to find.
• For us grandparents, it keeps our minds active. We've all heard that such activities can ward off dementia. At the very least, it challenges your brain and promotes creativity.
• Doing the research for this particular kind of kindness rock, reactivates your brain.
• We've all heard that we should stay active no matter our age, both physically and mentally. 

​Painting kindness rocks with an multicultural twist not your cup of tea? Well then, don't forget the holidays. Just paint kindness rocks with a holiday motif--we've got St. Patrick's Day and Easter coming up--go for it!

I wrote "Happy St. Patrick's Day" on the back of each one.

One last disclaimer: I am certainly not an artist (as you can see). I copy others' ideas from Pinterest. It all started when I was looking for a craft endeavor to do with my grandkids. A friend told me about kindness rocks. So if you haven't tried it, I would encourage you. It's not about perfection or any level of skill--it's just about FUN! And sharing with others. Isn't that what it's all about--helping each other on our walk?

My other blogs about kindness rocks:

​www.gigisseasonings.com/blog/kindness-rocks-project-with-the-grandkids

​www.gigisseasonings.com/blog/kindness-rocks-continued