Marble Roll Painting

A hand-eye coordination project with great appeal. You can even rope in the kids who won’t touch a crayon or puzzle.

Objectives

Children ages 4-5 years can name colors Lang. IB
All children participating will be able to imitate partner’s movement of marbles, eye-hand coordination practice, and balance marble on spoon.

 
 
 

Materials

Marbles; 3-4 colors of finger paints (or tempera powder mixed with liquid starch) in cottage cheeses tubs; cookie sheets with rims; paper cut to fit the bottom of trays; spoons.

Procedures

1. Gather children at the table. Place a tray lined with paper in front of each child and place other materials in the center of the table. Ask children for ideas about painting with marbles. “Is it possible? How could it be done?” Tell the children that there is one important rule to the game: they are not allowed to touch the marble with their hands. This condition maximizes the eye-hand coordination.

2. Le the children experiment with picking up the marble with spoons. Children then put the marbles into paint and roll them around for a good coat of paint.

3. Using spoons, children transfer the marble from paint to trays.

4. Children make pictures by tilting the tray so that the marble rolls around, leaving a track of paint. Encourage children to aim for increased control of the marble.

Variations
 
1.     Hold up shapes for children to try to reproduce. Don’t except success, but see if they can begin to distinguish the different motions needed for circular vs. straight-edged shapes.
 
2.     Let the children put a spoonful of paint in the middle of the paper. In order to make tracks, children must aim the marble so that it rolls through the glob of paint.
 
3.     Use two marbles at once.
 
4.     Children choose partners and sit opposite. One child tries to mirror the tray movements of his or her partner. See if the resulting pictures are similar. (Not likely.) Take turns.