This is one of those kits you can obviously put together yourself for much cheaper if you're crafty, but this kit gives you some extra nice perks that help little kids get results without super fine motor skills.

Even kids who draw well can be clumsy with a paintbrush or working on a 3D surface, so the big assortment of decals allows little ones to have some pretty sloppy painting but still make cute pets.

My daughter was really excited to paint these and is super eager to hide them around her school's playscape this fall. The paint could be more opaque and/or saturated (the colors are kind of muted), but they're a good consistency. I'd prefer better 1-coat coverage because it's not easy to get a 4-year-old to wait for paint to dry and apply a second coat. But it's adequate, and there's plenty extra paint and decals to at least double the output with your own rocks.

Honestly, I love the idea of hiding these out in the world, both because it's a fun activity at the school or park, and it gets them out of the house. :)

Great kit

I was introduced to the painting rocks craze in the summer of 2016 by two nieces that stayed with us for a portion of their summer vacation. Their time with us in 2016 was a complete opposite to the previous summer of 2015, when they spent almost every waking minute indoors playing video games. Teachers at their middle school coordinated a 2016 summer activity that involved finding, painting and giving away rocks. The kids posted to a Facebook group pictures of rocks painted and given. The group name was painted on the bottom of every rock so that rock finders could post their finds and complete the circle. The kids arrived at our house with a handout that gave general directions and a list of suggested needed materials (types of paint, brushes, sealers, cleansers, etc). My available time during their first three days with us was spent helping put together their creative space (a tarp covered picnic table in a bay of the garage) and searching at the beach for the "perfect" rocks for painting. We already had an assortment of craft paints and brushes to get started. I ran to the craft store when more needs were identified, like sealer, but not more than a couple of times. If I'd have let them, they would have spent every waking moment looking for, painting, and hiding rocks. For the entire time with us, they were intensely engaged at a level I've previously only seen when obsessed with a newly acquired video game. A little more than a year later and I see many, many rock painting kits available for retail purchase. Many, like the Creativity For Kids Hide and Seek Rock Painting Kit, say they provide everything needed. The Creativity For Kids kit does provide the basics, plus designs that transfer to the rocks and tracking stickers (that direct rock finders to the Creativity For Kids equivilant of my nieces' FB group). There's enough material provided to paint eight rocks. My opinion of the design transfers is ambivalent. Personally, I like that my nieces had to access more of their talents to come up with each rock's design before painting could begin, I can see the design transfers being a plus for less talented or younger kids. For me, a good part of the fun I had with the kids was the time we spent walking and talking while scouring the ground for "good" rocks. However, if the goal is to find a way for a child to pass time in a creative, positive way, but the time to spend one on one with them is lacking, I see that rocks being included would be another major plus. On one hand, I would have appreciated the time that I could have saved last year if the girls had arrived with kits similar to this one. On the other hand, I would have missed out on some moments that never would have happened if they had started with a kit. With all that said, I have to point out that, one year later, the nieces are with us again and neither has even an iota of interest in painting rocks anymore. Their school's FB rock tracking site hasn't had an update in months. Neither girl appears to have an interest in anything not staring back at them from their phones. Painting rocks, at least within their peer group, has waned in popularity. Ironically, I've decided to take the kit with me when DH and I camp later this summer. Last year, at least a half a dozen camping family members in our age group brought along fancy coloring books and markers. Even if the fad is dead with kids, rock painting may have breath enough to interest bored middle agers tired of coloring books.

This is a great gift for a child or an adult. In fact, it states "from 6 to 96" and most all of us fall within this category. I chose to order this item because it intrigued me. For myself....for my great-grandchildren.....a gift for a shut in. All is supplied in one box. What a deal!

Let me explain why I find this so neat. As a small child, paint didn't come in little containers....at least not to my knowledge. But my Dad painted our swings, slegs, the back porch......if it didn't move or talk, he'd paint it. Consequently, there was always paint around. My mom grew flowers....every where you looked, she had a patch of flowers. To teach me the joy of art, I was allowed to paint large rocks around these raised flower beds. I started this at about 4 and I was probably 10 when I got interested in sports. In any case, this set brought back memories galore.

This is not the cheapest rock painting set available but it is made by a top art supply company. I have oodles of colored pencils made by this company
and I love them all. Actually I am going to try some decorative ideas using the gel pencils on one of these rocks.

I have an inside, lighted garden grower of herbs and I am going to use these rocks (when I finish painting them) to decorate this box of herbs. I have really enjoyed finishing some of them. It is so easy and you can revert back to your younger days with this small hobby. Great use of spare time.

What a fun kit for kids! We got this to share between a 7 and 9 yr old boy and girl and it turned out to be the perfect craftsy activity for a Saturday afternoon.

Anyone can paint a few rocks -- and these kids have done so over the years. However, it's convenient to find everything you need in one box like this, so all you have to do is turn it over to the children and watch the fun and creativity commence.

You do get 10 smooth river rocks, 8 colors of weather resistant paint, waterproof transfers or decals, 2 paint brushes, transfer sponge and instructions.

Here's the new twist on the old idea. You also get tracking stickers! There's a craze going around where people decorate rocks, then hide them along nature trails and so on, where others can find and admire them. So your Hide-And-Seek painted rock kit is now part of the fun. Place a sticker on each rock so when someone finds it, they have instructions to go online and report using hashtags #CreativityForKids or #CreativityRocks, and you can see who found your stone art!

There's even paint and supplies left over, so your kids can find other rocks and paint them as well.

A lot of fun -- but the pricetag of $40 plus $7.61 shipping (at the time of this writing) may give you pause.

Recommended, with that caveat.