Rolling through summer - Marble Art!

By: Jenny K - DSW

We hope that you and your family are finding as many ways as possible to enjoy this unusual Summer of 2020.  Summer is such a wonderful time of year. It is full of wonderful weather, time to relax, and time to have fun.  I am a DSW in Cambridge and we have several kids who like to colour and paint.  Since we are still unable to connect with our KCC Kids in person, I wanted to share with you one of the EASIEST and QUICKEST paint activities I know.  It is one that is always a lot of fun/ This is also one of my favourite PAINT based activities.  It is called Marble Art.  I like it because it allows everyone to create something beautiful, colourful and UNIQUE.

What You Will Need:

The supplies for this activity are few and simple.  All of the supplies in the photo were purchased at a local dollar store.

• PAINT

  • Pick out your favourite colours (between 4 and 10 work best)

• PAPER

  • Construction paper works well (the coloured paper adds to the finished piece)

  • Plain paper for printers also is a good option

• BIN/BOX

  • Must be bigger than the paper

  • Must have tall sides

• MARBLES or SMALL BALLS 

  • Must fit inside each section of the ice cube tray

• ICE CUBE TRAY

• PLASTIC SPOONS

• CLOTHESPINS

• STRING

• RAGS or PAPER TOWELS

• SMALL BOWL OF WATER

Lets Prepare:

First, tie up a line of the string so you will have somewhere to hang your paintings when they are all done.

1. Along a fence or between trees works well outside

2. Along a wall or bulletin board if available works well inside

3. You can also lay them flat on surfaces if they are available

Next, select the colours of paint your wish to use.

Pour some of each paint into one section of the ice cube tray.

1. Pull out one spoon for each colour.  E.g. if you used red, blue, and pink you would need three separate spoons.

2. Pull out how many marbles/balls you will need (as with our above example you would need three balls/marbles)

3. Place the blank paper in the bin

Time to Paint!

1. Cover the balls with paint in the tray. Place one marble in each section and then use a spoon to scoop the paint over the enitre marble. .

2. Carefully place all the balls on the paper inside the tray.

3. Lift the tray and slowly tilt it all around. Watch as the balls “PAINT”.

4. One completed, remove and hang your masterpiece, replace with a fresh paper and REPEAT!

The best part of Marble Art is seeing the kids smile as they watch the marbles roll back and forth creating a wonderful picture full of playful lines, and unexpected twists!

Give it a try, and send us some pictures! We would LOVE to see your creations!