Let’s start this blog off with a fun fact: I have probably painted thousands of rocks with kids throughout San Diego! It’s one of my go-to art activities because it’s fun for kids, easy to set up, and leads to really diverse artworks. For example, now that we’re heading into the Halloween season, I love changing things up and doing this Halloween rock painting Montessori kids art project.
Here are my tips for setting up this art activity so your students have the best experience (and you have the least amount of mess and stress!).
Halloween Rock Painting in the Classroom or Home
When you’re setting up this Montessori Halloween rock painting project, you really only need three things: rocks for painting, kid-safe painting supplies, and a painting space.
Collecting Rocks
Kids love collecting rocks outside! You can find rocks everywhere, they’re a free resource that helps make this project really affordable. However, if your class is unable to go out and collect rocks, you can always find bags of them at craft or garden stores. If you are using collected rocks, make sure you clean and dry them before painting.
Natural rocks come in different sizes and shapes. Have your students imagine what they would like to paint, then look for rocks similar in shape. The best rocks for this project will have a nice, flat surface to paint.
Setting Up a Rock Painting Space
The space you set up should be in an area where children can get messy. If you want to protect your floor, use a drop cloth. Make sure your students are also prepared for a little mess; they should be dressed in clothes that can get messy, some paints do not easily wash off clothes.
It’s much easier for kids to paint if their materials are at eye level and on a flat and sturdy surface (like a table). You may want to put a drop cloth or old newspaper on top of that too.
Rock Painting Supplies
Here’s everything you need for this Halloween rock painting Montessori kids art project:
- Acrylic Paint – safe, non-toxic acrylic or thick craft paint will work great
- Paintbrushes – very small brushes for making details and medium brushes to paint the full surface of rocks
- Water Jar – to clean paint off paintbrushes between colors
- Napkins – for wiping water and paint off paintbrushes
- Palette – if you don’t have small palettes you can use paper plates or recycled egg cartons to hold your paint
- Newspaper – to protect the working surface and catch paint
- Smock, apron, or old clothes – to protect child’s clothes from getting paint on them
Halloween Rock Painting Colors
Acrylic paint is the best option for painting natural rocks; it will adhere to them long term. Just make sure you are only using kid-safe, non-toxic acrylic paint brands, especially when working with children under 12 years old.
You can make lots of fun Halloween designs on rocks using just a few colors of paint. These can be simple designs for kids to mimic.
- White – ghosts, mummies, skulls, eyeballs, spider webs
- Black – jack-o’-lantern, black cats, bats
- Orange – pumpkins, jack-o’-lanterns
- Red – eyeballs, drops of blood
- Green – witches, monsters, Frankenstein
- Purple – monsters, spiders, witches’ hats
- Yellow – candy corn, scary eyes
Remember, the final artwork will depend on your students’ ages and the time they’ve been exposed to painting before this activity.
For another spooky fun Halloween art project, check out my post on painting pumpkins!
Where to Start: Follow My Halloween Rock Painting Tips
This Montessori Halloween rock painting activity is actually really simple. All you really have to do is demonstrate how to properly use the materials—paintbrushes, water jar, napkins—and then let kids work independently to create their artworks. Here are three quick tips to help make the project go smoothly.
Tip 1: Rocks are not paper; they don’t absorb paint as easily.
When kids are cleaning their paintbrushes in between colors, make sure they wipe all the water off the paintbrush before they dip it back into paint. You don’t want runny paint when painting rocks, the paint is harder to control with precision and the image won’t be as clear.
Tip 2: Paint the background color first and let it dry completely before adding more paint.
If you want rock to have a solid background color, paint that first. Then, let the paint dry before painting anything else on it. This will help the image come out nice and clear, and keep the paint colors from smearing together.
Example: If painting a ghost rock, paint white first, let it dry, then paint black eyes and mouth once the white has dried.
Tip 3: If possible, paint rocks in direct sunlight.
Acrylic will dry quicker if it’s under a heat source. Rocks will take much longer to dry if they are being painted in a cold or cool temperature. Once your students have finished painting their rocks, lay them in direct sunlight to dry.
https://spramani.lpages.co/painting-materials-checklistOne Step Further: Download My FREE Kids Painting Materials Checklist
Like I said earlier, students can do rock painting in so many different ways and themes! The general idea and materials stay the same, the images and paint colors are the only things that may need to change.
With any painting project, as long as children have the right painting materials, they will learn and have fun! If you want a free downloadable version of the paint materials listed above (plus a few more), get my Kids Painting Materials Checklist now by clicking here.
A Short Cut Just for You
Painting—whether it’s rocks or on paper—is always such a fun activity for kids. I encourage you to set up painting projects and lessons for your class on a regular basis. My Kids Painting Practice & Process Curriculum has 57 master lessons that take kids from setting up a paint station and holding a brush all the way to creating beautiful nature landscapes and painting different types of animals! Each lesson is featured as part of a sequence and includes all the information—materials, demonstration technique, and direct and indirect aims—so you can simply follow the instructions and easily present the activity to your students.
Kids Painting Practice & Process Curriculum sets the foundation for their art education and will help them transform into little artists! To purchase the curriculum, click here.