Christmas Story Stones

Imagine a storytelling activity that brings the magic of Christmas to life while enhancing your preschooler’s creativity and language skills. Introducing Christmas story stones—a delightful addition to your collection of Christmas activities for preschoolers.

These charming, hand-painted stones feature festive images that inspire young minds to craft their own holiday tales. By incorporating Christmas story stones into your holiday routine, you provide a hands-on, engaging way for children to explore narratives, sequence events, and express their imaginations.

This activity fosters a love for storytelling and enriches vocabulary and comprehension, making it a perfect blend of fun and learning during the festive season.

There are so many ways to use these Christmas story stones with young children. From sorting to beginning sounds and more, your kids will love learning with these painted holiday rocks.

Christmas Story Stones

Christmas story stones are a fun and creative way to bring holiday tales to life! These charming, painted stones feature festive designs that can inspire endless storytelling adventures.

This craft combines art and imagination, perfect for little hands, making it an ideal holiday activity. Let’s dive into the supplies you’ll need and how to make your own set of Christmas story stones!

What You’ll Need

You can find river rocks in nature (around a creek), or you can purchase them. I got these rocks at the hardware store.

If you use dark rocks, like the ones pictured, you’ll want a white pencil to draw the images. If you use light stones, you can use a regular pencil.

You can use paint pens, acrylic paint, and a thin paintbrush to paint your rocks. It’s totally up to you.

What You’ll Do

To start, wash and dry your rocks to get rid of any dirt and debris that may keep the paint from sticking. With a pencil, outline your images.

Once you’ve got all of your images drawn, you can begin painting them. I prefer to use paint pens because they’re easier for me to control, but you can use acrylic paints if you wish.

After the first layer of paint is dry, go back and outline each image with a black sharpie or paint pen.

If you’d like to seal your stones, I suggest using matte mod podge. But, wait until the paint is dry before sealing or your images will smear.

How to Use Story Stones

As I mentioned above, you can use story stones with preschoolers in so many ways. Try these activities with your little ones, from storytelling to early literacy skills.

Storytelling

Put all of your story stones in a basket. Have your child pick a stone out of the basket and use it to begin a story. Then, choose another stone and add on to that story. This activity can be done individually or in a group setting.

In a group setting, one child chooses a stone and starts the story. Then, another child chooses a stone and adds to the story incorporating the picture on the stone.

Continue until all the stones have been used or all of the kids have contributed to the story.

Beginning Sounds

Grab a pack of letter magnets or other alphabet manipulatives. Have your say the name of the picture on a stone. Then, find the letter that matches that beginning sound.

Sorting and Grouping

Kids can sort and group the stones based on chosen characteristics. Sort people and not-people. Group by main color. Let your child choose a characteristic and then check his work.

Alternative Ways to Create Story Stones

If you’re not too artistic, you can use stickers, magazine pictures, or old book pages to create the stones. Just glue the image on or stick the stickers on each stone. Then, seal with mod podge.

Christmas Crafts for Preschoolers

Christmas crafts are a wonderful way to expand on the fun and creativity of using Christmas story stones. By pairing this activity with other festive crafts, preschoolers can explore holiday themes while expressing themselves through hands-on projects. Here are some easy and engaging Christmas crafts to inspire even more seasonal excitement!

• Yarn-Wrapped Christmas Tree Craft
• Simple Elf Hat Craft for Kids
• Mickey Mouse Santa Craft

Christmas Printables for Preschoolers

Christmas printables are a fantastic way to extend the fun and learning of Christmas story stones! From coloring pages to sequencing cards, printables provide additional opportunities for preschoolers to explore holiday themes and practice important skills. Here are some festive Christmas printables to pair with this activity for even more seasonal engagement.

• Elf Math Worksheets
• Reindeer Worksheets
• Christmas Yeti ABAB Pattern Worksheets

Christmas story stones are a delightful way to spark creativity and bring the magic of storytelling into the holiday season. Whether paired with crafts, books, or printables, this activity offers endless opportunities for fun and learning.

We hope this simple tutorial inspires you to create your own set and enjoy hours of imaginative play with your preschooler. Happy crafting and Merry Christmas!