Storing a "Rock Collection"

Use a short sided cardboard box or something that he can play with them inside of.

My daughter (almost 9) is still a rock hound.

She keeps her rocks in Ziploc bags since she has so many.

My son used to be a huge rock collector. First he kept them all in a wooden bowl in his room. Then we ended up getting him a big plastic container with many compartments...the kind of thing people use to hold beads or tackle or craft supplies. Kind of like this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Compartment-Crafts-Plastic-Storag...

Except it has double layers and can hold more. It's perfect!

Rocks go in a drawstring bag. The bag, along with his other small treasures, goes in a cool ammo can (like this) http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/product/ZAA-094

Do place some limits on his collecting so it doesn't get out of control. I know it's cute, but one of the smartest things I did when my boys were toddlers is to teach them that we don't need to keep everything, and it's okay to toss things that are beyond their use or broken beyond repair...or repeatedly end up at the bottom of the toybox.

At the end of the week, have him pick his favorite rock and put that in the box, put the rest in his very own rock garden outside. At then end of the month, pick the best of that month and put the rest outside.

I'll tell you, as a fellow mother of boys (mine are older than yours), the finding and keeping of "treasures" doesn't end. I'm pretty sure my 12 and 14 year old are related to crows.

Cigar boxes for storage. Small enough to carry around even when full.
Keep newspapers or old place mats around to protect the furniture and floors when he sorts his treasures.

If they're small, get one of those pill containers (4 sections a day times 7 days) or a similar box from the hardware store for keeping small nails, washers, etc. sorted an organized. You can get a flat one, or you can get the kind with little drawers. Some of the latter have dividers in them. He can store by color, size, whether they are sparkly (e.g. mica) or not, and so on. I have one in my workroom that has about 6 drawers across and 4 high, and there are dozens of little plastic inserts that subdivide. The whole thing is about 10 inches high by 12 wide and maybe 5 or 6 deep. Entire drawers can be removed but there's a little catch that keeps them from falling out on their own - sort of like your kitchen drawers but without the fancy rollers underneath. There's a handle on top for carrying but it also sits on the desk or a bookshelf. You can get little labels at the dollar or office supply store. Get him a small colander with tiny holes so he can rinse them without the dirt being all over your counter tops. A watering can works well to keep it outdoors while they rinse and dry, or you can try it in the bathtub if he doesn't turn the water on full blast.

Get some plain newsprint from packing materials to put on the counter top or table when he's working on his collection. If you know someone with a puppy, those puppy training pads work well to because there's a layer of padding. Another thing you can get pretty cheaply is brown wrapping paper at the dollar store - it's a bit thicker than regular paper or newsprint and it won't rip with the sharp edges of his treasures.

My kid went through this, and we washed a lot of rocks. He also went through a "paint" phase when he decorated them. Everyone in the family go paperweights for gifts that year!

I come from a very long line of rock collectors. I wish I could send you a picture of my moms patio. She has made wooden crates that cover the patio and are filled with all her rocks.

My rocks are mostly in a big pile in the corner of our house, but they are large ones that I have picked out on each of our trips. My favorite is a yellow shade, triangle shaped one that was peeking out of the ocean when the tide went down. I said, honey! There is the rock I want! So being the super stud he is, he DUG it out of the sand and it was MUCH bigger than we thought. LOL But he still got it out and we drove it home from our vacation in CA. I have fond memories of it as well as others in my collection.

My son has a growing collection of ones he's stolen from my mom and collected on his own. I have them in a large wire basket that holds them on his book case. They are the larger ones that don't fall through the wire. I also have a decent sized ceramic pot (for a plant) outside that he has his smaller ones in. They get cleaned off every time it rains. =0)

We had a little basket with a cloth in it on the table.You lay the cloth down on the table or whatever surface you are using. Sometimes you can encourage them to use a plastic cafeteria tray on the floor too. I sort out the rocks from time to time, the keepers go into the glass dishes and bottles we have full of rocks, agates, etc. Many of them migrate out to the gardens, which are filled with rocks and shells and succulents.

We love our rocks. Always finding things to take home, no matter what age we are.

We have used smaller tackle boxes and craft boxes in the past. These tend to have lots of small cubbies in them and helps with "organizing" the collection. Plus, the handle to carry it around is nice for him. We have found that tackle boxes have the heavier duty handles.

Good luck!

My father in law got my boys a printers box for their rocks. It's a big shallow box divided into little squares. He labeled the squares with what the rock was and where it was found.You might start with an old egg carton. And as he grows get something bigger. My boys all 3 loved rocks. Gravel from driveways, shiny pretty rocks from different places we went. They loved them all.

Cute. My youngest has one that consists of a lot of gravel too.

Right now ours is in a small paper bag with handles. We don't tend to look at them too much, it's more the collecting that this one's into.

The older kids had those clear boxes with dividers (dollar store has them as well as craft stores).

My daughter has hers in a cloth bag.

I always kept mine in a shoebox.

I, as well as my oldest daughter were rock collectors. Try re-purposing Mayo containers and the like and he can fill then and maybe even decorate the lids with extra special rocks!!! Within a few weeks you can probably empty one at a time without him realizing it and let him re-fill the same jars. :)

You can also suggest that this week, let's look for spotted rocks! Or, Hey, let's look for rocks that have stripes! Make it kind of a game. This way, it may take more time for him to fill them up.

Extra special ones can be put into craft boxes that have dividers in them for display purposes.

Have fun!!

i'm not quite sure how to answer this. obviously there are a gazillion ways to store them, from shoebox to fancy display bowls. but none of them will stop the rocks from scratching things when he dumps them out.
can't you just lay down an edict that he only sorts them on the floor? or that he lays down an old towel before he dumps them out?
khairete
S. (the family rock addict)

We keep my daughters rock collection in the wooden box I made way back in my middle school woodshop class. I was going to throw the box out, but now it's very touching to see it being used by her.

I would get a small rug (like the kind you might buy for in front of your sink in the kitchen or in the bathroom. You can find cute ones from Target to Cost Plus.. I think you'd want one on the thinner side. I have seen them with a pattern on the outside and a form lining inside.. You can let him pick it out and call it his special rug for rocks.. Or something to that extent.. Teach him to place it on the floor BEFORE bringing out the collection.. If he think the rocks are special, then for them to have their special place on such a "grand" rug might get him to use it.. it's worth a try..
Good luck :)

We have a 2 shelf wicker plant stand by the front door, sitting in our planter. All outside "collections" from walks go on that plant stand. There are no actual plants on it. We've had random baskets on there that get replaced every so often as they deteriorate, other times they just put things right on the shelves. As the seed pods and pine cones fall apart they make their way into the green waste can and any rocks get added to the rocks in the same rock planter. Very few rocks actually make it in the house, just the more special bigger ones.

My daughter did the same thing! I would pick the most pretiest one and put it in my planters. I still have some today. She just laughs.

he's a little young for this now, but if he continues his rock love.......you can store them in mason jars and then write a little paper note and secure it over the lid by holding it down with the "band" portion. :)

If you have any interest in this hobby please find a local rock and gem club and consider visiting some rock and gem shows.

One way of cataloging a rock collection is to use white duct tape. You put a number on the tape and stick it somewhere on the rock. Then you keep a notebook with each line a new number. Draw lines down and make columns.

Many people keep different information about each rock. You can make each column what you want. BUT some things you might want to include are where it was found, what it looks like in case the number comes off, if you know what it is...for instance, is it Malachite or granite or a piece of shell fossil. What was the date, location, etc....you can google how to catalog a rock collection and find all the column/categories you can possibly think of.

You can also have a photo album online in a place that won't be lost, like an online place that can be accessed from any computer or cell phone. I use one that I like well, my computer crashed a while back and since I had all my photos instantly synced to this program and FB I had 2 copies of all my photos.

Having a photo of each rock isn't hard and it's often a way for you to glance and see what something is and if you have the right one. Still include the where, what, and date in the information.

We have our rock collection in a desk that is specific for only that. It is in the dining room and each drawer is for a different thing. We have Rose Rocks in one drawer, fossils in another, we have minerals in another but we do tend to divide that one up a bit more since we have one that is completely fascinated with them all. And as weird as it is we have one drawer that is coal. It's Oklahoma okay? Coal, we've taken this kiddo to Coal County and done some research and gone to some museums down there, seen strip mining pits that are filled in and so much more. Even got to go to a "dig" and pick up some samples. It was a really sweet thing that was arranged for us but a friend.

There are many groups that kids and adults can be part of.

This is American Federation of Mineralogical Societies

http://www.amfed.org/

They have all the rules and information you need to find a local group that should have activities for kids and adults both.

This is how we're all divided up into smaller regions.

http://www.amfed.org/region.htm

New York is in the Eastern Federation

http://www.amfed.org/eastern.htm

This is the link to the eastern federation

http://www.amfed.org/efmls/

These are the clubs in New York.

http://www.amfed.org/efmls/clubs.htm#New York

I hope you can find one near you and check it out. Kids who love rocks are often very happy to go to meetings each month to learn about them and they will grow up going on digs, field trips to the local hardware store to go find minerals we use every day, watching volcano videos to see how the rock cycle works, and more. The Jr. Clubs are the best.

You can also google rock and gem shows and find ones that are near you. That's when your child, and you, will learn a lot more. We've been to many shows and bought many pretty rocks that we still have to this date.

Cigar boxes or craft organizer.
Check the dollar store for cosmetic organizers.