Painting with marbles
If your kids love to paint, you have to try Painting with marbles. It creates beautiful, colourful and abstract art work. With only a few items you probably already have lying around the house, you can set up this fun activity for your kids within minutes.
Age
From 2 years and up
What you need
Paper
Paint
Cake tin, plastic container or cardboard box
Marbles
Preparation
As the kids are using paint in this play, they could spill some drops here and there. Have them wear old clothes or an apron and protect your table if needed. Cut the paper in the correct size and/or in different shapes i.e butterfly, hands etc. The activity doesn’t last very long so prepare a few more sets of paper so that the kids can make a couple masterpieces. Use paint that is safe for children and is easy washable of clothes and hands.
Play
You can decide how messy you want to make it. The cleanest option is to drop some paint on the paper for your child and put the marbles in. The messier version is that your child could dip the marbles into the paint and then let them drop the marbles onto the paper. From now on it just TOSSING and TURNING! You can use one or multiple marbles, one colour or a few different colours, there is no right or wrong.
If your marbles fall out of the box, you could cover it up with some cling wrap. And if the marbles have too much paint on them, just rinse them off in between play.
Add-ons for more fun play
Just wash off the paint from your marbles and box when you are finished painting. Why not let your child help you with it?
Educational
Painting with marbles is not only fun for kids but it also improves their hand – eye coordination.
Age
From 2 years and up
What you need
Paper
Paint
Cake tin, plastic container or cardboard box
Marbles
Preparation
As the kids are using paint in this play, they could spill some drops here and there. Have them wear old clothes or an apron and protect your table if needed. Cut the paper in the correct size and/or in different shapes i.e butterfly, hands etc. The activity doesn’t last very long so prepare a few more sets of paper so that the kids can make a couple masterpieces. Use paint that is safe for children and is easy washable of clothes and hands.
Play
You can decide how messy you want to make it. The cleanest option is to drop some paint on the paper for your child and put the marbles in. The messier version is that your child could dip the marbles into the paint and then let them drop the marbles onto the paper. From now on it just TOSSING and TURNING! You can use one or multiple marbles, one colour or a few different colours, there is no right or wrong.
If your marbles fall out of the box, you could cover it up with some cling wrap. And if the marbles have too much paint on them, just rinse them off in between play.
Add-ons for more fun play
- Try painting with Pom Poms instead of marbles. With a straw the kids can blow the Pom Poms over the paper.
- Using beads with different shapes, sizes and materials/structures can give nice effects to the art work.
- Get a large cardboard box and have 2 or more kids hold the box. Encourage the kids to take turns moving the box up and down causing the marbles to roll around.
- Have the older kids create a maze in a large cardboard box by simply gluing or taping small pieces of cardboard at random places in the box. Now try to let the marble with paint run through the maze.
- When you use a plastic container, you could choose to put a lid on it and SHAKE it.
Just wash off the paint from your marbles and box when you are finished painting. Why not let your child help you with it?
Educational
Painting with marbles is not only fun for kids but it also improves their hand – eye coordination.