Rock booklist

I think every kid goes through a rock-collecting phase, and so why not capitalize on this and have fun with a rock unit as part of your Homeschool Preschool or your kindergarten? If you’re using My Father’s World Kindergarten this is one of your units, and so you’re already planning this, and this actually started as a rock booklist that I put together back when I was using that curriculum. I’m brainstorming ideas to expand this out into a full-blown rock unit soon. I’ll put down a few of my ideas right now, but for today it’s a rock booklist.

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Rock unit spine book: Stone Soup

There are about a million versions of Stone Soup, I remember teaching a unit about nutrition and sharing with Stone Soup back when I was a teacher.

When I was picking up books, the particular copy available at my library was Stone Soup by Jon J. Muth.

This particular version takes place in China, and has gorgeous watercolor illustrations, and has a small town coming together over a feast as slowly everyone opens up their kitchens and their cabinets to three strange monks who are making stone soup from three smooth stones.

Now, let’s look at some great books you can expand out your rock booklist with.

More great early learning fun

We’ve had a lot of fun learning, so if you’re looking for more ideas for your younger kids check these ideas out:

• Zoo animal craft book
• Very Hungry Caterpillar
• Rabbit Unit
• Comparing bird and mammal bones
• Preschool Dinosaur Unit

Rock fiction booklist

I found some fun books, and there were a few I thought were going to be fiction, but were actually nonfiction because they were fairy tales or folklore.

• Bring me a rock!– a power hungry grasshopper demands rocks be brought for his throne as the terrified insects bring him bigger and bigger rocks until one tiny bug brings a little pebble, it has amusing illustrations, and could have some fun conversations, but it’s not the best, so easily missed
• A Rock Can Be– An interesting look at all the ways we use rocks, and all the ways rocks can be seen in nature, this book would be nothing without its illustrations, and an easy extension would be to then make your own version with your own illustrations
• Rhoda’s Rock Hunt– a very true to what every parent knows happens when taking kids hiking or camping, they want to take all of the rocks home, and the illustrations are adorable, and would be a great talk for why we can’t take all the rocks home
• Sylvester and the Magic Pebble– a classic I remember reading as a child, Sylvester finds a magic pebble that causes him problems

Brief interlude for some older kid inspiration

Someone reading this might have some older kids and want something to do with them while their little kids are reading this rock booklist.

• 10th grade curriculum choices
• 1984 book club)
• We didn’t start the fire history lesson
• Vincent VanGogh artist study
• Columbus Hero or Villain

Rock nonfiction booklist

I’m sure every library will have a great collection of rock books, I know our library had a great collection to make up my rock booklist for my nonfiction books. These are the ones I grabbed. I did not grab them all.

• Let’s go rock collecting– a good book for early readers to talk through rocks they’ll probably find as they go out and about and see in their lives and what type of rock that is.
• I’m trying to love rocks– this is a more modern style of nonfiction book with lots of cartoony illustrations with a fair amount of information as if the author is talking to you as a character in the book, a young girl.
• Rock by Rock: the Fantastical Garden of Nek Chand– a story of how one man slowly built a garden rock by rock using things that were thrown away.
• The Big Rock– the story of how a rock changes over time, and how a big rock can become a small rock and how that small rock can move. For those who care this does use millions and millions of years.
• Sand to Stone and Back Again– similar to The Big Rock it follows through time as it goes through many changes
• Rocks and Minerals– this was a National Geographic kids book and is all the popular nonfiction styles, so expect your kids to enjoy it, not much to say about it
• The Donkey and the Rock– An absolute delight of a story about two good men who came into conflict and the donkey and the rock that were put on trial by the wise king. If you can find the book read it. Demi is a treasure of an author.