Rocks Have Properties ~ Continued

Softness or hardness, shapes 

Some rocks are softer than others. Find out which is the softest or hardest. You can do this by taking your rocks out to the sidewalk. Take one rock and make a mark with it on the sidewalk. Soft rocks will leave a mark, hard rocks will not. After making a mark, place the rock that made it at the end of its mark so you can remember which rock you used. The rock making the biggest mark is the softest and the rock that made hardly a mark is the hardest.

Rocks have different shapes--flat, round, square, rectangle, ball, weird, triangle, maybe more. Make a pile for each shape. You can also make a human shape using rocks laid on the sidewalk. Give it hands, arms, head, legs, feet and body made with rocks. Make a cat or dog. Take a picture of your creation to share with friends.

Do you have rocks that are very smooth and rounded? Make a pile of these. They are probably river rocks and being in a river allowed the rocks to be moved and tumbled as they moved in the water. Rocks on the beach look this way, too, as the tide rolls them over and over and knocks off the rough edges. Collect some smooth rocks the next time you go to the beach.

Round smooth rocks are perfect for painting. Have mom or dad purchase acrylic paints in four to five different colors. You choose. You can paint your rocks to look like people, animals, plants, monsters, or just rocks.