The JumpStart Blog

Does your child want a pet, but you don’t want to deal with the dirt, noise, and discipline problems? Try making this cute rock pet. It’s not the same as a real puppy, but it should keep your little one entertained for at least an afternoon!

We decided to make a tree frog!

What you’ll need:

• A few smooth, evenly shaped rocks of different sizes
• Waxed paper
• A hot glue gun and hot glue
• Acrylic or tempera paint
• Paintbrushes
• Wiggle eyes, pipe cleaners, tacky glue (optional)
• Acrylic gloss varnish (optional)

How to make the rock pet:

1. Wash and dry the rocks.
2. Let your child arrange the rocks into an animal shape to get an idea of what he/she wants to make. A larger rock can be used for the body of the animal, and smaller rocks can be used as feet, a nose, or a tail.
3. Let your child use the acrylic or tempera paint to decorate the components of the rock pet. Make sure to supervise your child to make sure he/she does not ingest the paint or get it on his/her clothes. An apron or some old clothes might be helpful during this step. Also, make sure to work over the waxed paper from this point on to keep your workspace clean.
4. Let the paint dry. If you’d like, coat the rocks with acrylic gloss varnish to give them a shiny finish.
5. Under your child’s direction, use the glue gun to attach the smaller rocks onto the larger rock for him/her until you have a fun, adorable rock pet!
6. If your child wants to glam up the rock pet even more, he/she can add wiggle eyes, pipe cleaners, or other accessories with tacky glue.

Step 1.

Step 2.

Step 3.

Step 4.

And here's our finished pet!

There you have it – your child’s very own pet, without the mess and hassle. If you have enough rocks in the backyard, you and your child can make a whole menagerie!