The student body at Jefferson School is rockin’ it. Literally.

This past week, children in grades K-6 were given rocks and the freedom to paint them in their own unique style.

Krystal Woodral, family support worker, said the idea came about through the book “Only One You” by Linda Kranz. The book teaches children, “There’s only one you in this great big world. Make it a better place.” 

“As part of our social emotional curriculum, we are helping students celebrate their uniqueness and take pride in themselves,” Woodral said. “The rocks will be put into a rock garden to make Jefferson more beautiful. 

“This project shows kids how we are all beautiful individually, but when we come together, we can make the world a better, more colorful place,” she said.

The school partnered with Dilly & Doc, a local painting studio, to make the project a reality.

“I know Phyllis Brack through her daughter, Lexie (Brack), our school secretary,” she said. “She loves working with kids and doing crafty things so I thought she would be a great person to ask to help with this project.”

“We hope that the outcome is to build community partnerships and also help the students understand that being themselves is important,” Woodral said. 

In order to complete the project in a single day, it was done during music and PE time and with help from those teachers, Katrina Aumiller and Dustin Klassen.

The plan is to place the one-of-a-kind, hand-painted rocks in a specially designated rock garden in front of the school. A sign will be added to mark the project.

 “Overall, I feel the kids really enjoyed the project and did a great job expressing who they are,” Woodral said. “They are excited to see the final outcome in front of the school and show their families.”