Jennifer Weber’s students, left to right, Maurizio Orozco, Angelina Barrera, and Julian Garcia paint rocks to look like pumpkins, Oct. 20. The Northbrook preschool students will hide their pumpkins around the playground to help create interaction between the preschool classrooms. (Reporter photo by Jennifer Sommer)

Northbrook preschool teacher Ashley Konczak hands out painted rocks to, front row, left to right, Ayden Stallings, Trenton Cantrell, Logan Jones; back row, Jaylah Sotelo and Mayson Desirena. The students then hid the rocks for others to find. (Reporter photo by Jennifer Sommer)

Susan Sack of Mendota shares her collection of painted rocks. (Photo contributed)

MENDOTA – A simple act of kindness is making a big impact in communities across the county, one colorful rock at a time and Mendota is joining in on the fun.

A few years ago, Megan Murphy was looking for signs in the sand on the beaches of Cape Cod. If she found a heart shaped rock it was a sign from her father; if she found sea glass it was a sign from her mother, both of whom are deceased. She noticed other beachcombers looking for something, too.

One day, she started writing encouraging words on a few rocks with a Sharpie and dropping them along her walk. When a friend found one of her rocks and told her how finding it made her feel, The Kindness Rocks Project was born. Today, The Kindness Rocks Project has over 62,000 followers on Facebook.

One message can change someone’s day, outlook, or life, she says.

The painted rocks have evolved from just a message with a Sharpie to colorful designs–simple to elaborate, some with words, others without. What remains the same is the hope to brighten someone’s day.

The rocks are no longer just along the beaches on Cape Cod, either.

The craze has rocked the country with Facebook pages for communities from coast to coast.

Rachael Lock started the Illinois Valley Rocks page in July after first finding a painted rock in Tennessee. The page is run by her and her grandmother and already has over 700 followers. “I love the painted rock project because of how it makes people feel. It seems silly to hide rocks, yes. But, when you hide them you’re not thinking about yourself. You’re thinking about the person who will find it and who might need that little random act of kindness,” Lock said.

It was not going to be long before people in Mendota would be painting and hiding rocks, too.

Andrea Schaefer of Mendota learned about hiding and finding painted rocks from a family member in Indiana. She soon painted some rocks with her three young sons. “They painted a ladybug, a butterfly, a ghost… and some sort of bug,” she laughed.

She admits they look like little kids painted them, but her children were so excited about painting and hiding them for others to find.

Since then she has created the Mendota Rocks Facebook page.

Susan Sack of Mendota has also been painting rocks.

While visiting a friend in Michigan, Sack noticed teen boys looking through planters around town. Suspicious, she kept watching them. They were finding painted rocks, taking pictures of them and re-hiding them, she learned. “Then I noticed how many people were out strolling around rock hiding and finding. One lady was pushing her elderly mother that she checked out of the nursing home to go rock hunting,” she said.

Next, while traveling out west, she noticed more painted rocks.

Anxious to join the movement, she picked up paints and started painting, hiding her new rocks.

There are rocks out there that are elaborate and others with just splotches of paint but Sack noted that someone left it with good intensions. “There is so much negativity in the world today, that this is just something that says somebody cares,” she said.

When she returned home, Sack introduced the hobby to residents at Stonecroft Retirement Community. She began with sharing her own painted rocks. Now the residents are painting, too.

After sharing more painted rocks with her grandson’s 4-H group, they are planning on painting rocks this month, as well.

Sack sees the painted rock project as a huge potential for community outreach. “The rocks are out there bringing joy to people and that is the whole purpose of it,” she said.

If you have visited the library lately, you might have noticed painted rocks outside. Northbrook preschoolers have recently painted and hid some of their creations. Ashley Konczak, Northbrook preschool teacher, shared with fellow teachers the excitement of her son when he found a rock painted like a sheep. “The joy he expressed when finding that rock was absolutely priceless,” she said.

The teachers agreed that the painted rocks could be incorporated with the friendship theme in their classrooms.

Hannah Keesee’s preschool students will be donating their painted rocks to the rock garden at the veterans home in LaSalle, Nov. 11.

How to join in the fun:

*Find or buy some smooth rocks. Be sure to never take rocks from private property or parks.

*Clean and dry the rocks to prepare them for painting.

*Use craft paints and brushes or paint pens to paint on your rocks or write messages of encouragement. Pinterest is a great resource of inspiration for colorful images and messages.

*Add the hashtag “#MendotaRocks FB” on the back so seekers can find the Mendota Rocks Facebook page and post their finds. (Make sure to join the Mendota Rocks Facebook page, too, to see when others find your rocks.)

*Spray paint a clear coat of non-toxic sealant over your painted rock.

*Spread your rocks around town. Remember to only place them in public places, unless you ask an owner for permission. Be mindful of the environment and respectful of community spaces. If you travel with your rocks to place elsewhere, do not place them in a state or national park where there is a Leave No Trace policy.

*When you find a rock, take a picture and post it. You can leave, keep, or re-hide the rock elsewhere.

“People of all ages, talents and interests can paint rocks. Sometimes it can be intimidating to stare at a blank rock and decided what to put on it, but it is so easy to put the word love or hope or faith on it,” said Sack.