BUSTING ROCKS

My oldest two recently celebrated their 8th and 9th birthdays. They are now at an age where toys aren't exactly of interest anymore, so I had to get creative with presents. While perusing Amazon, I came across a geode kit. PERFECT. Science meets adventure. My oldest was pretty excited over the gift (his brother received an equally awesome crystal growing kit). We finally tested out the geodes and what an adventure it was. Thinking it would be an easy activity, I grabbed a hammer and we pulled out the instructions. "For a precise cut, use a chisel to score the entire circumference of the rock." What. I have no chisel. SO I ran next door to borrow some from my neighbor. And I attempted to score the first geode. It. Took. Forever. My neighbor came to see our progress and found me rather flustered. So he offered to help by using a saw. Between the three of us (my neighbor, my oldest, and myself), we hardly put a dent into that stupid stone. I got so frustrated that I just threw the rock against the sidewalk and BAM - it shattered to reveal its inner gems. So we all ran back home and used the hammer to shatter the rest. No, not every cut was clean and perfect. But the kids had a blast taking turns whacking the rocks with a hammer. We ended up with quite a few awesome stones. Now to build a shelf in the boys' room to display their gems...