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Pebbles and Pinecones: A Family Game

June 29, 2012 by Michele

 

 

The Boy and I went out for our walk yesterday. We decided we needed to gather all the pretty nature things we found along our way: sticks, rocks, grass heads, and the like. We made quite a lovely (and extensive) collection actually. When we came home again, we had no idea what we were going to do with it all.

And then, magically, a game presented itself to us. We call it: “Pebbles & Pinecones”. It goes something like this:

How to play Pebbles & Pinecones:

Once you’ve gathered together all the natural elements, you will now need to draw a shape in the sidewalk with chalk. We drew an 18″ (45 cm) circle using a large platter as our template but you could also draw a square, a triangle, a soft-bellied amoeba, whatever! The game can be played by one, two, or many. If many are playing, make the shape bigger. If you’re playing by yourself then you may decide to make it smaller.

Arrange all your nature things in piles around the shape. Decide who goes first.

Step 1: Player 1 chooses one type of object, say sticks, and arranges the sticks however she likes within the shape.

Note: No player is allowed to interfere with another player’s turn, or criticize another player’s design choices.

Step 2: Player 2 chooses one type of object, say grassheads, and arranges them however he likes within the shape.
Step 3: Player 3 (and so on and so forth) continues in this way, adding one type of element to the design, until the design is complete to everyone’s satisfaction. Stand back and admire the team effort!
Step 4: Photograph the finished design.
Step 5: Play again if you like.
Step 6: Repeat steps 1 to 5. Make a collage of all the finished design photos and add it to your photo album.

The great thing about this game is that it can be played anywhere, with any objects and with anyone. AND everyone wins! Play it at home with Mom, camping with Grandpa and Grandma, on a picnic with friends, at the beach with your sisters, indoors or out. The Boy lasted well over an hour (not including the initial hunt) and in that time we made at least 10 designs. All in all our game was a rousing success!

Here are a few of our completed designs:

 

 

 

 

Naturally pretty, wouldn’t you say?

 

Have fun playing “Pebbles & Pinecones” yourself!
♥M

 

Filed Under: kids, kids, miscellaneous, nature and wood crafts, reuse, Tutorials Tagged With: kids activity, nature, pinecones, The Boy, tutorial, twigs

Previous Post: « Space Exploration by The Boy
Next Post: Woman at Work – Hexagon Quilt in Progress »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. bookkm says

    June 29, 2012 at 2:15 pm

    So awesome. I have to find a kid to play this with me.

    • Michele Pacey says

      June 29, 2012 at 6:42 pm

      Even "big kids" will enjoy this one. I know I did!

  2. Little Treasures says

    June 29, 2012 at 2:36 pm

    My Gosh!! This is amazing! I mean truly breathtaking!!!!!
    LOVE all the designs and I know I'll be playing this with my kids at the beach!!

  3. Little Treasures says

    June 29, 2012 at 2:38 pm

    I just pinned this and had to return again and admire all of them!!
    Michele – I knew you were genius! I just had to say that again!

    • Michele Pacey says

      June 29, 2012 at 6:43 pm

      Aw Maya, you're so sweet! I hope you do play it. It's a very "zen" kind of game. 🙂

  4. Melissa says

    June 29, 2012 at 5:06 pm

    A delightful idea and I bet it was relaxing..

    • Michele Pacey says

      June 29, 2012 at 6:45 pm

      Quite relaxing. Which is saying a lot when it comes to playing with The Boy. 🙂

  5. Amy Friend says

    June 29, 2012 at 5:59 pm

    Beautiful designs.

  6. Terri says

    June 29, 2012 at 6:19 pm

    What a wonderful find for the passers-by. I love to collect those items. I put them in baskets as home dec.
    Hugs!

    • Michele Pacey says

      June 29, 2012 at 6:47 pm

      Thanks Amy and Terri!

  7. catie says

    June 29, 2012 at 6:32 pm

    ~nature mandalas~
    seems like a perfect way to celebrate every season.
    they are gorgeous!

  8. Michele Pacey says

    June 29, 2012 at 6:49 pm

    Nature mandalas… I like that Catie. 🙂

  9. Tammie Lee says

    June 29, 2012 at 7:13 pm

    such a wonderfully fun idea
    they are all beautiful

  10. Liberty says

    June 29, 2012 at 10:15 pm

    Oh my gosh this is SO AWESOME!!!
    I kept exclaiming "Oh wow!" as I saw the photos. This post actually got me to click through from RSS reader to comment! (not something I do often 🙂
    I am totally excited by this. Thank you very much for sharing it. The photos are beautiful!

  11. Poppyprint says

    June 29, 2012 at 11:19 pm

    You are so brilliant. What a perfect game for a summer of camping fun!!!

  12. Michelle L. says

    June 30, 2012 at 12:33 am

    Art from sticks and stones! These are all amazing and the photos are just a little bit stunning. Wonderful post!

  13. Anonymous says

    June 30, 2012 at 1:03 am

    So beautiful. I visit your site often just for the relaxation, and creativity ! You are a gem.
    Joyce from Oklahoma

  14. Charissa - The Gifted Blog says

    June 30, 2012 at 2:52 am

    I like the last one the best. : )
    We live in a pretty urban place but are headed to the mountains soon! Maybe we'll find some nature-y items to play our own version…

  15. CREATIVE MIND says

    June 30, 2012 at 6:28 am

    Beautiful & seems so much fun 🙂 thanks for sharing dear..

  16. gartcott says

    June 30, 2012 at 8:05 am

    Gorgeous graffiti! What a thrill to come across something like that..

  17. Het Knuter Huuske says

    June 30, 2012 at 8:29 am

    Luv it 🙂

    Greetzz, ivonne

  18. Melissa Kojima says

    June 30, 2012 at 4:25 pm

    Wow! What a fun idea. I love how creative you two are! They are such beautiful designs too. What a great summery activity to do! They're mandalas.

  19. Zdolność-tworzenia says

    June 30, 2012 at 8:55 pm

    Uwielbiam mandale. Piękny pomysł do propagowania. Czysta areterapia.

  20. nicolette at dutchcomfort says

    July 1, 2012 at 9:46 am

    That’s double fun, first the hunt and then all those fabulous designs!

  21. deborahinwi says

    July 1, 2012 at 9:07 pm

    These are beautiful, and what an excellent idea! Just the types of things i collect & love! Thank you for sharing!

  22. pam says

    July 5, 2012 at 1:11 am

    Oh this is a fabulous idea! My grandson is coming next week for a month and we will be visiting many of my "secret places" He tends to fill his pockets just like i do and now we will have a great time playing your game at the day's end.

    Thank you 1,000 times for sharing!

  23. Suki says

    July 6, 2012 at 9:14 am

    Wow, I love this game! When my little one is a bit older we will try it 🙂

  24. peacework designs says

    July 9, 2012 at 1:05 am

    Wow. What a totally fab idea. And so simple! Thanks for this great game!!

  25. Catherine Sweeney says

    July 22, 2012 at 9:12 am

    such a gorgeous way to celebrate nature – your works are mandalas and very beautiful. such a sweet thing to discover your blog via crafty crow! divine!

  26. Neha Sara says

    July 23, 2012 at 9:45 pm

    wow these are very very beautiful i love them all you r a total genius

  27. Tami says

    July 30, 2012 at 6:55 pm

    So cute!

    I’d love it if you shared this with the Fun Family Crafts audience.
    FFC is similar to Craftgawker but it only features kid friendly tutorials.

    Looking forward to seeing what fun crafts you submit!
    http://funfamilycrafts.com

  28. Anonymous says

    September 21, 2012 at 4:17 am

    This beautiful. What a profound yet simple way for children to connect to nature, patterns and love for the earth. Thank you for sharing this brilliant idea….this is very generous of you. Reminds me of the work of Andy Goldsworthy.

  29. Mama Nature says

    November 10, 2012 at 1:37 am

    Beautiful land art! Have you tried this with flowers on the spring or overlaying some fresh snow?!

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I am ecstatic if you choose to link to this site, use a brief description, one photo, or link back to any of my posts. Do not republish entire posts without my permission. Tutorials, patterns and printables are for your personal use only and are not to be used to make items for sale. Thank you.

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