I am a constant collector. I go for walks and pick up pebbles and stones everywhere I go.

I have a stack of big stones at my front door and many baskets and jars of different colours through my house.

But what can we do with these stones other than put them in a jar or leave them in a basket?

Can you stack your stones? 

This helps build up hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills as well as dealing with problem-solving. It doesn’t have to be a huge stack of stones, even two or three is impressive.

Can you use your stones as treasure and hide them from your Mum or Dad? 

You could tap some other stones together if they get close to finding your treasure, stop tapping when they get further away. Maybe the tapping can get louder when they are really really close to the treasure.

Can you use your stones for maths and art? 

Drawing a white line on all your stones, whether its a wiggly line or straight line. Then try and problem solve and make a picture.  Maybe you could make a shape or maybe even the first letter of your name.

Can you make your stones into Story Stones? 

We love stories in nursery. You could make your own story stones like in the picture. You could download some pictures or draw your own and tell your family your favourite stories.

The Artful Parent (www.artfulparent.com) loves making story stones if you wish for some tips and hints.

Can you organise your stones into different sizes or colours? 

This uses problem solving and maths, not only are there so many different ways to organise a collection there is also no right or wrong way. Big to small, tiny to teeny-tiny, the different colours.

However you play with your stones and pebbles, please share your ideas on ILD and on twitter.

x stay safe.