You know those rocks people put around tealight candles or in vases?  I don’t know what the decorative shiny rocks are called (other than the obvious), but they’ve turned into the best toy ever.  We call them P’s “treasure” because they’re shiny and fun to hold.

She grabbed a bag of them when we were at Bed, Bath & Beyond and I was tired and they were $4 and I figured, why not?  It wasn’t worth the meltdown in the store to say “no,” even though they’re the sort of dust-catching decorative foofoo I hate.

Well, color me shocked.  They’ve turned into the most versatile toys.  We count them.  We talk about their different physical properties.  We mix them all up and then sort them into three separate piles, something P will do over and over again.  I will sneak the wrong color into a pile just to watch her tell me I am being silly and put them in the proper pile.   She lets me “have” the matte blue and clear blue rocks and reserves the clear, silvery rocks for herself.   Obviously, if you have a wee one about, these are a choking hazard.  But for 3 years olds, they’re a blast – well worth the $4, that’s for sure.