10/16/201902/09/2024 Bettina Zabel

Our Positive Rock Garden

Crafts and Activities, For the Family, Free Printable, Seasonal, Summer Season

Spread the Love With a Positive Rock Garden

A few years ago, our community had positive rocks introduced… and it quickly became a phenomenon. Many communities had this happen and the concept was called different things, but in our community, Positive Rocks became a big hit.

I have heard that this idea was created by many individuals, but I believe the idea originated with The Kindness Rocks Project, if I am wrong let me know, but that is what I have found with some research. Anyway, the premise is basic… paint a rock, give it a positive message, hide it (but not too hard), and allow someone else to find that little bit of positivity when they might need it most. That’s it!

We Stumbled Across This

While out walking one day, the kids and I stumbled across a painted rock. The rock didn’t have a positive message but it was a blue sky with a smiley face sun, and on the back, it told us to visit our community’s Positive Rock Facebook page. So, I grabbed my phone, looked it up, and found out what was going on. That’s when I learned about positive rocks, and my kids loved the idea.

Our community’s Facebook page was basically just set up to allow people who found rocks, a place to showcase them, and let others know that they had rehidden them. Seeing the Facebook page once in a while I noticed the act of painting, hiding, looking, and sharing… became a hobby for many people, which is awesome. We didn’t always share the rocks we found… but I liked how involved the community got!

Our Positive Summer

We spent all summer painting, hiding, and finding positive rocks. My kids got the neighbor kids really into it as well, and I even made quite a few rocks. It was fun doing the activity together and knowing that we were doing something that might bring some joy to others.

As fall and winter came, the positive rocks became less plentiful in our community, which is understandable. The next summer it wasn’t quite as popular, however this third summer it has seen some revival. We haven’t made as many as we did that first summer but the kids and I find ourselves out on our front porch from time to time, painting rocks with something we feel is on our hearts… and I still love the idea.

My Tips for Positive Rocks

The point is to be positive, so making sure that you, or your kids, are sending something out into the world that is positive… well… it’s the whole point to me. We found lots of rocks with ads on them, and honestly, it isn’t the point.
Use acrylic paints, but if you want the message to last a bit, I would spray your rocks, once the paint has dried, with a clear sealer coat.
Paint pens make for some great detailed rocks and are sometimes easier for kids to use. They are also easier to write with, though we often used black Sharpie for the writing.
Smooth rocks can often be easier to paint but all rocks are great!
Don’t use rocks at all, make rocks. After going through our rocks and realizing that we shouldn’t be painting natural rocks in big numbers, we bought a rock mold on Amazon and used concrete to make rocks. You can find various shapes here. I would suggest a smoother rock mold and then follow the concrete instructions. This is a great way to paint rocks while leaving nature alone.

How to Make a Positive Rock Garden

Positive Rock Garden That first summer, I had read a few comments on our community’s Positive Rock Facebook page, how mothers with very little kids wanted to participate but were struggling to go on long walks and hikes to find rocks.

At that time we were landscaping our side yard, and I decided to put in a small area for a Positive Rock Garden. I did this, put it on the Facebook page, and it became a pretty popular place.

Last year, we put in a Little Library on our property and with it, decided to move our Positive Rock Garden from its original location to the area of the Little Library. We changed the name to Happy Rock Garden and since then, our corner has been a very popular place!

Doing What We Can

A Positive Rock Garden @bemandfam We can’t all have positive rock gardens, but we can all do small positive things each day for those around us. I love this idea because there have been so many people who have found rocks with the exact message they needed that day. Imagine having a horrible day, nothing goes right, but then you see this rainbow rock that reads…