VOLGA – Kindness can be found anywhere, if you look hard enough.
And the third-graders at Sioux Valley Elementary are doing their part to spread a little joy and kindness through the community, thanks to their class craft, kindness rocks.
The idea behind kindness rocks is simple: people paint a rock, typically with a positive word or phrase, and then hide them somewhere in their community.
Third-grade teacher Vicky Schneider is responsible for bringing it to Sioux Valley. Each year she has a theme for her classroom, and this year, the theme is “Third Grade Rocks.”
When on Facebook late this summer, she came across the Brookings Rocks Facebook page, which brought kindness rocks into Brookings. The page, started by Casie King, owner of KcK Wildfire, has more than 500 members.
Schneider saw in these painted rocks a great way to get students excited about the start of the school year as well as a way to set classroom expectations in regards to kindness.
“Although curriculum is important and I strive for excellence in that area, I also want to teach my students about being the best students they can be. So things like kindness, respect and caring for others are all just as important to me, especially at the beginning of the year,” she said.
She shared the idea with the other Sioux Valley third-grade teachers, and they were just as thrilled about it. One of the teachers provided the rocks, gathered from her own yard – an easy enough task given that the yard hadn’t been planted with grass yet. Thanks to that, about 54 students painted rocks of their own to hide.
Apparently not every group is so lucky; according to King, a group based in a very urban part of Georgia has had to buy their rocks from an art store. “I think that’s funny because I don’t know if they don’t have as many rocks as we do or what.”
Designs varied greatly with the students. Some had smiley faces, some did rainbow patterns, some painted the rock in their favorite color.
Kendall Schwartz wrote “Stay Strong” on her rock. She said, “It will help the people of Volga if they walk by and read the message. If it says, ‘Stay Strong,’ it gives them the message that they can do it.”
Wyatt Nelson enjoyed the chance to paint, too. He wrote “You Rock” on his rock. “My favorite part was painting the rock. It’s fun if someone will see the rock and reads it, and it will make them feel awesome.”
Rocks were then sealed with shellac spray so that the paint would last longer.
For others interested in making kindness rocks of their own, if a sealer isn’t available, others have just put their rocks in Ziploc bags.
“Even if the rain washes it away, it’s an opportunity to do it again and do something different every time,” King said. “Even with limited supplies, you can do a lot. You could just use a Sharpie and things like that.”
After they were done with their creations, the Sioux Valley third-graders hid their rocks in places such as the school grounds and local parks.
“I love the idea of helping others and showing kindness,” Schneider said. “This is just one simple way we can show kindness. I really like this opportunity, especially since it steps outside of just the classroom and into the community with a simple act.”
Depending on what next year’s classroom theme is, kindness rocks could reappear next year in Sioux Valley’s third grade.
“Sometimes I keep my theme for a couple years before I change it. I also saw on that (Facebook) page that you can send rocks overseas to military people … to encourage them, and someone gave us the idea of even taking them down to the nursing home in town and showing kindness to people and give them a rock from our third-grade class,” Schneider said. “So it might possibly be something we continue to use throughout the year and just do it in a variety of ways.”
As new as kindness rocks are to Volga, the idea is almost as new to Brookings. King’s Brookings Rocks Facebook page was started about six weeks ago after King heard about the rock projects at a gym conference and how it was spreading positivity in other communities.
She likened it to the Pokémon Go craze during the summer of 2016, when people wielding smartphones would search their towns for the digital critters through the augmented reality app.
“A lot of … different towns and communities that do it, they’ll post a picture and it’s almost like a scavenger hunt. They’ll say, go look here, and give clues,” King said. “It’s something that I love, that teachers are getting involved and having their students do it. It’s something different for them to get outside and do.”
She’s not sure how many of these painted rocks are hiding throughout the Brookings area, but she encouraged people to post their findings to the Facebook page. She also recommended that those wanting to paint rocks of their own do so soon before winter sets in.
“Get out there and spread a positive message for Brookings County,” King said. “We have a really great community and the more that people can get out and enjoy it and celebrate it, the better.”
Contact Eric Sandbulte at esandbulte@brookingsregister.com.
