Rock Zen Garden Activity For Kids

After enjoying our Rock Sensory Bin we wanted to do something different with the rocks. And thus this sensory activity can to be.

We explored the different ways you can create artwork in the sand with rocks and made our own Zen Gardens.

This is simple to set up and great for sensory play and a sensory bin for kids.

What is a Zen Garden?

Zen rock gardens are used the calm the mind all over the word. And it is a work of sand and rocks with lots of lines.

Zen Rock Garden

This simple Rock Zen Gardens is a calming sensory activity we used after school. It was a great way to calm down after a busy day and easy to set up

They started with nice smooth sand and put in rocks or other items and made a pattern in the sand.

What you need for the Rock Zen Garden Activity

We have included links to some of the products and resources we have used with this activity. If you purchase via the links we may earn a small commission.

• colored rocks (we used those from the Rock Sensory Bin
• stick to draw
• thin layer of sand

Playing in the Rock Zen Garden Activity

You will see how we used the rock Zen activity below. And also check out this DIY mini Zen garden you can do.

Place the Rocks in the Sand

We started by placing the rocks into the sand. Because we are using kinetic sand you can push them into the sand.

It is a fun to see kids play with the rocks and the sand.

Draw Lines Around the Rocks

The next part is always fun. You draw lines around the rocks and in the sand creating patterns.

This is all them and they can be creative as they want. And it is fun to do this activity over and over.

You can always keep adding more rocks and drawing more. This is what make this simple and easy to use.

Plus you can always pat the sand down and use it again.

Finished rock Zen Garden

Here is a look at the final project of the first time doing this.

This was a great activity to to create and play with rocks and work on fine motor skills. Once they finished on project they could smooth out the sand and start again. It gave them lots of time to just sit and and calm down.

Looking for other fun Rock sensory activities for kids

We have also done a pumpkin patch version of this! It is also fun to do.

Rock Sensory Bin is great to play in. This version just has a mixture of different rocks that kids can explore and sort and just have fun.

DIY mini Zen garden would also go great with this activity.

Rock and Rice Sensory Bin is a great sensory bin for having rice and rocks. It is simple to set up and you can have hours of fun playing in the sensory bin. You can sort rocks, make shapes with rocks, and more with this sensory play.

Constellations Sensory Bin is a great back and white rock sensory bin for kids. You can move the rocks around and make star patterns for kids.

Rock & Water Bead Sensory Bin is a blast to play in. It has green water beads for the base and colored rocks added to the bin. You could use plain rocks as well. And kids love this bin because it is so much fun to explore.

Check out all the fun Sensory Bin Activities on 3 Dinosaurs.

Cassie – 3Dinosaurs.com