strawberry rocks

A couple of weeks ago, I saw some strawberry painted rocks on a friend's facebook page.  If you put them in your strawberry bed, they are supposed to keep the birds from eating the strawberries for your strawberry shortcake.

I am a little skeptical of their bird effectiveness, but thought that they would be a fun way to bring nature into the classroom.

My friend and teaching buddy decided that we would make them together while we attended a kindergarten institute. (We were the only ones arriving at our accommodation with a bag full of beach rocks, red spray paint and a variety of colours of acrylic latex!)

step 1
rocks on newspaper on the grass in a hidden corner

step 2
red spray paint (I kept waiting for someone to ask me what I was doing on a university campus with a can of spray paint - guess I just don't look bad a$$ enough!)

Let the painting begin!

step 3
We used a mixture of three different greens to paint the leaves at what was determined to be the top of the strawberry.

step 4

Paint on the seeds.  We used white paint.  I guess you could use black too.

step 5 

I sprayed the finished strawberries with a varathane spray to protect them and give them a bit of shine.

I think they look pretty good.

A basket of beautiful strawberries to be used as math manipulatives, for counting, sorting, to put out with a book (like Audrey and Don Wood's The Little Mouse, the Big Red Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear), or for inviting the imagination to play.