Unplugged - Stone

What a fun theme for this week's Unplugged Project! First I thought about garden stones, then I thought about the book "Stone Soup." But ultimately I settled on a few activities centered around a unique Michigan treasure, the Petoskey stone. Petoskeys are fossilized corals found in and around the Great Lakes in Northern Michigan. When you find them on the shore, they are sometimes rough and bumpy, but many times they are polished beautifully by the sand. Some people sand down the rough ones for display, or you can buy nicely finished ones in the touristy shops. M and I have spent many, many hours beach combing for Petoskeys and beach glass, and anything interesting, really, and we have buckets and bags full in the basement.

I showed E some of the stones we had around, and she thought they were pretty and fun to touch. I didn't think that E was old enough to stay interested in sanding down a stone, but I figured she might get interested in making Petoskey Stone Treats! I found a website that suggested making Cheerio Crispy Treats and shaping them like rocks. Sounded like a great idea, but I forgot the cardinal rule of the Unplugged Project..."Know Thy Child." I COMPLETELY FORGOT that my daughter has an irrational fear of marshmallows. As I opened the package and asked her to help me measure 4 cups, she actually gasped in horror. "I don't want dem!" Even after they melted in the microwave, I couldn't coax her to eat even one sticky, sugary Cheerio. As per the directions, I greased up her hands so she could help me shape the stones, but she refused, with actual tears in her eyes. She wiped her hands in her hair (lovely) and stormed out of the room. Even so, I was pretty pleased with the results, shown in the picture below.

On the left is a rough stone found up north, and on the right a pretty Petoskey heart given to us for a wedding present. In the middle, the edible stone...I briefly considered lining up the Cheerios so they looked more realistic, but gave that up immediately. I had forgotten how really really sticky melted marshmallows can be!

Phase II of Project Petsokey went a lot better. While E was napping, I hid 10 stones (all kinds) in her sandbox. After she had milk and a snack, I told her that we had another stone activity, and she was excited to go rock hunting. I gave her a pail of water to rinse them and a few shovels, and I removed all the other sand toys. She came up with a way to search for rocks using her bare feet, and she even asked one rock, "What's your name?" I don't know if it answered.

After dinner, I'm happy to say, E actually ate the Petoskey Stone Treats. After a few tentative bites, she said "More." I gave her a few small ones which she devoured, and I said, "No, that's all for now." "That's okay," she said. "We can make more stones tomorrow." Hmm. I wonder if she remembers that marshmallows are the main ingredient?!