On 3rd November it is International Stonework Play Day. This worldwide celebration is where nature, creativity, story, and humankind connect. Stonework relies on nature's ability to enhance one's imagination. It is a form of creative learning and storytelling as a response to handling stones and creating unique patterns with their various weights, shapes, and textures. It all started when Diana Suskind was invited to a school in Nepal as an Early Childhood Consultant to craft developmentally appropriate, hands-on activities. Despite a lack of resources, she realised that stones were an ideal medium for self-expression due to their movable nature.
I am so happy that this day exists. It is a day like all days when I can play with rocks which is my 'happy' place. I love to collect them, draw on them, make things with them, put them in my garden, gift them etc, etc. My father was a keen geologist and I remember holidays when we would be in the car and he would pull the car over, make all of us kids get out of the car while he showed us some particular kind of rock or geological feature. I could take you to places in NSW to see cirques, incline planes, faults, sedimentary layering, tors, plugs and columnar jointing. I grew up in Kiama on the South Coast of NSW, an area well known for basalt and the blowhole, so it is little wonder that I like rocks. Near Kiama there is a very sheltered stony bay called the Boneyard and it is a treasured play area where I can easily spend a whole day constructing cairns.
I have a Pinterest page ready for when I retire from teaching with ideas for things to make from stones and rocks. On this page you will also find picture books that will also give you inspiration for stonework day.
Another place to seek inspiration is on the webpage for this day.
Two new 'rock' books you need to see:
When a little boy finds a lonely stone on a quiet beach, he decides to find him the perfect home among other stones just like him. But nowhere feels quite right for little Stone. Just as the boy is about to give up, he realises that he may have had the perfect home for Stone all along . . .
• When You Find the Right Rock by Mary Lynn Ray & Felicita Sala
A marvelous exploration of the special relationship children find with the natural world and the fascination and friendship they find in special rocks, from poet Mary Lyn Ray and artist Felicita Sala. Somewhere, a rock is waiting for you. One just the right color for your windowsill, or just the right shape for drawing a face. Maybe it is a rock from the heart of a mountain that will remind you of how big YOU are inside, too. Maybe it is a rock washed by the sea that knows all about the backs and forths and ups and downs of things. Maybe it is a small rock, just the right size to close your hand around and know that the rock is with you and it is just right. Through vibrant illustration and evocative text, When You Find the Right Rock carries readers along on a journey of discovery, from the mountains to the sea, that's all about learning the beauty of being in the moment, connecting with nature, and the thrill of finding a precious keepsake to call your own.
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