Tuesday's Tips for Summer Survival (TTSS) is a weekly carnival to help mamas survive the long summer days. The goal is to share kid-friendly tips so we can end up on the other side of this summer with what little sanity we had when we started.
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Marble Paintings:I read about this activity in a magazine (probably my favorite, Wondertime, which unfortunately ceased publication) about a year ago and always remembered it.
You'll need:
a shoebox or lid
a piece of paper cut to fit inside the box/lid
paint
cups
marble
Put the paper in the bottom of the box/lid. Fill the cups with just enough paint to cover the bottom of the cup. Drop a marble in the paint and roll it around by shaking the cup. 
Gently drop the marble from the cup to the box.
Tilt and shake the box to get the paint covered marble to roll around.
Repeat with more colors if desired.
Remove the paper from the box and let dry.
This entertained Jack (age 4) for quite awhile. He tried different techniques...fast frantic shaking versus long back and forth slow tilts. He also tried a large marble versus a smaller marble. Logan (age 3) has a shorter attention span and only made one or two paintings before running around the yard like a wild banshee.
Gently drop the marble from the cup to the box.
Tilt and shake the box to get the paint covered marble to roll around.
Repeat with more colors if desired.
Remove the paper from the box and let dry.
Sorry the pics are a bit shadowy...we were doing this late one afternoon.
Here's how you can participate in TTSS (and please do):
Grab the code for my button (over there on the left) and write your own post about a kid-friendly idea that might help a mama keep her sanity this summer. (Feel free to include the obligatory cute kid photo!)
Then come back here and add your link to the widget built by my wonderful andgeeky talented husband. (Pays to be married to a geek!) Simply add your new (or even an old) post's link to the form below.
Then, most importantly, visit the other blogs that have linked and leave comments, hopefully encouraging them to give us more good ideas next week.
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Grab the code for my button (over there on the left) and write your own post about a kid-friendly idea that might help a mama keep her sanity this summer. (Feel free to include the obligatory cute kid photo!)
Then come back here and add your link to the widget built by my wonderful and
Then, most importantly, visit the other blogs that have linked and leave comments, hopefully encouraging them to give us more good ideas next week.
This is neat. I guess I need to get more of my TTSS worthy activities posted and join in.
ReplyDeleteBe sure to come by my blog and collect you award!
That's creative! How come I can never think of these kinds of things?
ReplyDeleteloved that! I'm linked
ReplyDeletewhere the heck was this post yesterday??!!! I love the idea and will do it soon! Today we are going to pick strawberries. It's the end of the season. We'll make a nice dessert. And I think there will be some marble painting too!
ReplyDeletemy kids do that in school! i never thought to try it at home. thanks!
ReplyDeleteVery fun. My kids are 6 and 8... both love to do any kind of art project, so I think they'd like this!
ReplyDeleteI used to love doing this activity with my Kindergarten class. So much fun. they did great with their picture.
ReplyDeleteI'm just loving all the great ideas you have on here. Can't wait til I have kids of my own and can use them... :)
ReplyDeleteI love this!! This is definitely something my boys would be in to, anything that involves paint!! I'll have to find our marbles and give this a try! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI love this!! Such a simple and low-mess art project that looks beautiful for hanging! Plus, it's so quick, if Monsoon really enjoys this I might be able to get enough pieces of artwork to send out with his birthday party invitations. Thanks for another fabulous idea!
ReplyDeleteHow fun. Sounds simple and entertaining!
ReplyDeleteWe've done that too and we've also used matchbox cars to make tracks with the paint!
ReplyDeleteWe love doing this. For Christmas I cut their painting up and placed them on blank cards as Christmas gift for the grandparents. They loved them!
ReplyDeleteOoooh, that is a really fun idea! Love those, Carmen's right, that would make for great artwork or cards to give to grandparents! What cuties! Love it!
ReplyDeleteso i haven't commented on your blog for a while, but i have been trying to catch it now and then. this is a great idea. i can never seem to have paint around. i don't know if it's an aversion to the mess or ifi don't want to spend the money on it, but it gotta get me some paint.
ReplyDeletebtw, your boys are just so cute!
Another fun and creative idea, Carey!! Keep them coming.
ReplyDeleteLooks like of lots of fun.
ReplyDeleteMarble painting... that just makes me laugh. The first time I ever saw that was on The Wiggles. Fantastic idea and less of a mess!
ReplyDelete