Free Rocks Preschool Lesson Plans

Get set to roll out an exciting ‘rock’ theme in your preschool classroom! We have compiled a fascinating array of activities for our rocks preschool lesson plans that covers a broad spectrum – from literacy exercises to art projects, sensory exploration and even incorporating math and science fun.

This unique theme introduces children to the intriguing world of geology, stimulating their curiosity and interest. Stick around until the end of this post and download our comprehensive and free lesson plans that are packed with rock activities for preschoolers.

These rocks themed lesson plans are just one of over 20 fun preschool themes that can be taught any time of year.

Young children are naturally curious and fascinated by rocks due to their varied sizes, shapes, textures, colors, and hardness levels. For instance, realizing that a rock can be used like chalk to write on the pavement can be an exciting discovery for a four-year-old.

Moreover, this theme provides opportunities for hands-on learning and outdoor exploration, especially during favorable weather conditions when children can embark on a rock hunt. It’s a versatile theme that can be taught at any time of the year, and it always seems to spark enthusiasm among students.

A rocks theme also offers a multi-disciplinary approach to learning. Through various activities, children can develop skills in science (exploring and investigating rocks), math (counting, sorting, and weighing rocks), and art (using rocks for painting or creating art pieces).

Additionally, they can enhance their literacy skills by reading books about rocks and communicating their observations and thoughts.

These rocks themed preschool lesson plans have all that and more, and best of all, these preschool lesson plans are completely free, too! You can also get them as part of our convenience bundle of preschool lesson plan themes.

What to Teach Preschoolers in a Rocks Theme?

Preschoolers are naturally curious and often brimming with queries about rocks. This curiosity provides an excellent opportunity to teach them about the various aspects of rocks.

They can learn to identify different sizes of rocks, from pebbles to boulders, and explore the properties of rocks such as their varied textures, colors, and hardness levels. The concept of buoyancy can also be introduced by observing whether rocks sink or float in water.

Moreover, if your preschoolers show keen interest, you can expand the lesson to include information about gemstones and minerals, which will really make your preschoolers ooh and ahh with curiosity.

Incorporating activities that involve comparing, sorting, or weighing rocks based on their shape, size, type, or texture can make the learning process more interactive and enjoyable. Such hands-on activities help develop their observational skills, critical thinking, and understanding of basic mathematical concepts.

Ready to get rockin’?!

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Rock Lesson Plans for Preschoolers

These preschool rock-themed activities cover the main academic areas plus include lots of hands-on, free exploration and opportunities to build language and vocabulary and develop conversation skills.

Literacy Activities for a Rocks Preschool Theme

Pebble Letter Formation – Gather some small pebbles or rocks and print these alphabet formation cards. Invite your preschooler to form the letter by lining up the pebbles to create the letter.

Model starting from the top and following the arrow down as you lay the pebbles down. Start by building your preschooler’s name first and then choose random letters. Invite him/her to share the sound that the letter makes and think of a word that begins with that sound.

Letter Stones – Grab 26 flat stones from the craft store or on your nature adventures. Using alphabet stickers or a permanent marker, label each stone with each letter of the alphabet. Use these letter stones to label the beginning sounds of things outside, make names, practice short words, or put in ABC order.

These are a blast to play with and stack too!

Books About Rocks for Preschoolers

Whether you read fiction or non-fiction, these fun rock books are great for learning about types of rocks and identifying various types and their features. This is our book list for the best picture books for a rock preschool theme.

Pre K Science Lesson Plans About Rocks

Rock Count and Draw – Gather some rocks and print the number formation cards, invite your preschooler to practice writing their numbers on the sidewalk with the rock.

Which rocks can be used to write like chalk? Draw a ten-frame and fill it with rocks! How many did you need?

Rock Count– Place a sticker on one side of 10 stones and place the stones in a bowl. Then shake the bowl and count how many sticker rocks are facing up. This math activity is great since there is no prep and it’s so fun to collect rocks on an outside nature hunt!

Rock Investigation – Set up various rocks on a table with a magnifying glass, a spray bottle with water, and a balance scale. Invite them to explore the types of rocks, compare size and weight, sink or float, and use descriptive words like smooth or rough.

We recommend this set of various unpolished rocks. They provide so much visual interest in a rocks science center!

Preschool Rock Theme Activities

Pea Gravel Sensory Table – Add pea gravel to a sand table or in a large bin.  Add sticks, sifters, cups, small toy cars, dump trucks, etc.  Children can “draw” roads or other designs on the gravel or haul the gravel in the dump truck. Or they can do construction work.

Kids love to dig into the pea gravel which helps build fine motor skills as they scoop, use tongs, and push vehicles through the rocks.

Make Sand Dough – This dough dries to create a stepping stone for your garden. Using 1 part white glue, 2 parts flour, 2 parts sand, and 2 parts water, mix together to create a dough. You may need to add water or flour depending on the consistency.

This recipe could also be used as a science experiment. Invite your preschoolers to make predictions about the outcome and measure and pour along the way.

Make Stone Soup – Read Stone Soup and make stone soup using natural materials, water, and a big pot and spoon!

Social-Emotional Activities for a Rocks Preschool Theme

Kindness Rocks – Being kind is one of the most important life skills for young children to learn. Invite them to participate in shared kindness art by painting rocks and leaving them with little encouragement and notes in various places.

Think of the park, the playground, or even at school or in the community. Share this video with your preschooler of the kindness rocks project and get them excited to participate!

Be a Friend Through Thick and Thin – Go to YouTube and listen to the story, Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry. This story uses simple text to get a very important point across – how to be a friend. After reading, ask your preschooler to discuss what the pinecone did in the story. Was his actions kind or not?

Re-create the story with your preschooler by gathering a stick and a stone. Invite them to act out the scenes and retell them. Or come up with new scenes for this adorable story. Read Stick and Stone Best Friends Forever for the next story in the series and follow along with these two pals on their adventures.

Just Plain Fun Rocks Activities for Preschoolers

Start a Rock Collection – Grab an empty egg carton and head out on a rock-collecting adventure. Fill each of the twelve spots with different kinds of rocks and stones.

Paint a Pet Rock – Grab some rocks and paint them bright colors. Add some googly eyes or feather hair, give them a name, and make them your very own “pet”! These extra large flat rocks are perfect for this activity!

Rocks & Minerals Scissor Cutting Practice – This printable is print and cut! Invite your preschooler to use their scissors to cut along the lines.

Remind them to manipulate the paper rather than turning their hand to cut. Scissor practice builds hand strength to prepare for writing!

Get Online Activities for a Rocks Theme

Online Story – Go to YouTube and listen to the non-fiction book, Rocks Hard, Soft, Smooth, and Rough by Natalie Rosinsky. Pause the video after each page and talk about what interesting info was learned.

Invite your preschooler to point out a personal connection they might have to that page or a question they have. “Do you know anyone who wears minerals for jewelry? Did you know rocks can come from volcanoes?”

What Are Rocks Video – Learn about rocks and minerals along with Moby the Robot in this video.

Be a Rock Detective – Learn about different kinds of rocks!

Make Your Rocks Theme Even Better!

These extra materials are certainly not required but sometimes those thematic items really help your theme go the extra mile. These are some of the rocks toys and activity kits I like to use with my preschoolers.

Get Your Free Preschool Rocks Lesson Plans Here

Want to include these rocks activities in your lesson plans? Ready to grab your free printable lesson plans with all these rocks theme activities for preschoolers?!

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