Prince George is a great place to raise a family. Since I started writing blogs for Move Up Prince George, I have highlighted the many things that you can do with young kids to keep them busy. This past year and a half in particular have resulted in me and my wife trying to finding creative ways to keep three growing boys entertained when some of our normal activities were closed, or limited because of COVID-19.
Now I know this doesn’t sound like an exciting pastime, but something that has kept our family sane is joining the growing trend of creating and searching for painted rocks. The exciting thing is this trend has not only grown throughout our community but across the globe. Like Hearts of PG, this trend grew momentum during COVID as a method to provide free accessible activities to children and families and spread positivity at time when people needed that little spark.
Get outside to search for and hide painted rocks
Throughout COVID everyone needed to find ways to spend time outside. Our family has spent many hours exploring the trails at various dog parks with our dog Bentley. I can attest to there being so much excitement when the boys find a rock that someone has painted and hidden. It truly makes the trip and can turn our quick trip to the park into hours of searching.
The hunting is only one part of journey as the boys also need to create their own masterpieces to share with the community and other rock hunters. This summer has been full of hunting, creating, and making great memories. Want to create you own? It’s such an easy and low barrier activity. Grab some paint (acrylic is best so it is waterproof) and find some rocks to paint!
Making an event out of painted rocks
Due to the pandemic, the normal activities coordinated for Pride by the Prince George Pride Society were cancelled. So PG Pride and the Prince George Queer Café created a family friendly community scavenger hunt. Community members hid rainbow rocks throughout local parks over a four-day period and encouraged everyone to go out and hunt. When someone found a rock, they were asked to post a picture in the Facebook event. It was really great to see all the pictures of families who were out looking for rainbow #PrideRocks.
Online clues
Facebook has become a place to provide clues as to where rocks are hidden or to show off your newest treasure. If you and your family want to participate and post your clues or pictures I would encourage you to check out Hell Yeah Prince George or the PRFK (Painted Rocks for Kids) Facebook Group.
This is just another example of how Prince George comes together to create an inclusive, low cost activity for families. An activity that encourages you to be outside and one that can bring a community together is a good one in my books. Together as a community, we can get through every challenge and bring a spark of positivity back to our kids.
