the painting rocks for kindness movement

"A few years ago, my son came home from school excited about meeting a real author and illustrator. He went into so many details about how he learned about kindness and creativity through Toni Field's story of Artie and Bones. I saw the masks that he made, the rocks that he painted to hide in our neighborhood, and the beautiful, signed storybook. I knew right then and there that I had to make a connection with Toni!

-J.A.

I am a school media specialist in Marlboro, NJ and fortunate to say I was able to book Toni Field right before schools closed due to the Covid pandemic. How lucky I was to bring Toni to meet over 500 of my students! It was truly one of the best days of the school year. Toni gave a rocking presentation that engaged all age levels from grades one through five. It was a day filled with kindness, creativity and teamwork! My related arts team and PTA parents joined forces with Toni Field to facilitate a school wide rock painting activity.  It was inspiring to watch the children being so enthusiastic and eager to create something special that would later be placed in our school garden. Toni has a teaching background, love in her heart, and talent in her hands. I've worked with many authors and illustrators in the past, and Toni is up there with the best of them. I'm looking forward to working with them in the future!"

-J.A. Mom and School Media Specialist

"My kids participated in an Artie and Bones rock painting for kindness event and they really enjoyed it! Toni gave them ideas of what to paint and encouraged them to come up with their own ideas too. Toni read her book to the kids and we enjoyed it so much that we purchased a copy of it. We thought it was such a great idea and we started painting rocks for our family. We even put colorful painted rocks rocks around a family member's pool as a surprise! I definitely recommend going to one of her events."

-S.B.

"Toni Field was the art teacher/presenter for a "Kindness Rocks!" event as part of Freehold Public Library's busy summer schedule. Children ranging from preschool through high school created messages of encouragement or simple illustrations on rocks to be placed around town for people to encounter. Toni managed the potential for chaos (a bunch of kids plus acrylic paint!), modeled ideas, and helped children express positive messages in creative ways. Once dried, the rocks were distributed all over Freehold and beyond. Some participants picked up rock painting as a new family hobby as a result."

-K.M.

"Grissom School in Old Bridge had a special visitor on June 6, 2017. Toni Field helped Mrs. Fiore's class learn about spreading acts of  kindness by making kindness rocks for their community garden. The kids thoroughly loved talking, sharing and painting their ideas! They were truly engaged in Toni's lesson and displayed great creativity in creating beautiful rocks with messages of kindness. They vowed to spread kindness wherever they go! A truly valuable experience for all! Thanks, Toni!!"

-C.F.

"The Artie and Bones kindness assembly that was presented by Toni Field for my school's Kindergarten and 1st Grade students was nothing short of amazing! The assembly included a Power Point presentation, reading of the Artie and Bones book, a question and answer portion, and rock painting. It was informative, inclusive,, and the content was age appropriate and fun! The students loved having a real life author read their story to them and were so excited to spread kindness by leaving their rocks for others to find."

-L.F.

"Toni presented her Artie and Bones book to our students in grades 3-5 as part of our Reading on the River Celebration. All of the students were excited and engaged. She incorporated our character education program into the presentation so the students were able to make connections. We all enjoyed the presentation and were encouraged to use our creativity!

-R.B., 4th Grade Teacher

"We purchased a few stones painted by Toni and they were beautiful."

-E.L.

"The Artie and Bones project was so much fun for the kids and they can't wait to spread the love in the neighborhood. What a great book! It's an inspiration to teach our children kindness."

-N.H.