My children enjoy playing with natural objects, leaves, stones, acorns, etc. By combining their love for nature and an idea I found on Pinterest, I came up with a great DIY gift for my nieces and nephews. I gathered stones (and since we live in the city, I had to cheat a bit and buy a package of river stones at the Dollar Tree). Then I cut out tiny story characters and objects from paper, fabric, etc. and mod podged them onto the stones. My sister's children are mad about Little House in the Big Woods, so I used an old paperback (don't worry, I have another copy of this title!) to cut out Laura, Mary, Ma, Pa, and Baby Carrie along with a bear, dear, etc. for their set of story stones. They turned out charming. I made a set for traditional stories that included a pot, an old man and woman, farm animals, a gingerbread boy, and other items that would make Stone Soup, The Gingerbread Man, The Old Man and the Old Woman, and Clever Beatrice a possibility. I made simple cut outs of a mouse, cheese, and other Mother Goose items for the youngest, and a set of woodland critters for my own son and his critter-loving cousin. I also made a set with a vintage fabric that included rosy faced children and their pet dog. Finally, I sewed drawstring bags in coordinating fabrics and made gift tags with story and game ideas using the stones. The best game idea I had was to pass the bag around the dinner table or the car and for each person to add to a family story that is made up as you go along. When you take an item out of the bag, you must add something to the story that includes the character or item you drew. This is a variation on the game my siblings and I played so often with my Dad as a child. He used to love to start a story and go from person to person adding adventures. I hope the story stones continue this tradition of family story telling! I took a picture of the traditional tales set and the Little House set for here. I hope you like them!
