I don’t know about your kids, but my son loves rocks. It’s something totally natural to him – he loves to pick them up and carry them around all over the place. Rocks were one of the first things he stopped trying to eat because he loved them so much. So this weekend, I decided to start letting him collect very special rocks by making the very first rock for his rock collection.
I picked this smooth stone from our large gravel patio as the perfect candidate to paint. It’s got a smooth surface for his name, and it’s big enough that if he did start eating rocks again, he couldn’t get the whole thing in his mouth. It’s funny how much differently you look at things as a parent!
Next, I just painted it very simply. I picked a light blue (almost the same color as the stone itself) and a bright red for the decoration. I’m not very adept at painting, haha, so I knew from the get go that it wouldn’t be a work of art. But Clark absolutely loves it and loves pointing at each letter as we spell it outloud for him over and over and over. It’ll be one of those silly things that I hope he’ll hold onto forever and make for his kid one day. It’s so simple and cost nothing since I already had all the materials on hand. Try it for your kids and let me know if they love it!
Two Blue Pillars 
I love this idea!
so cheap and yet so sentimental… also good job on the lack of choking hazard.