Michele Made Me

Pebbles and Pinecones: A Family Game

by

 

 

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

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  6. Terri says

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

  10. Liberty says

    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!

  13. Anonymous says

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

  18. Melissa Kojima says

    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.

  22. pam says

    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!

  27. Tami says

    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

    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.