Parenting Tip - Create a Marble Run!

When I took my grandchildren to the Phoenix Children’s Museum after Christmas, one of the things they were enthralled with was the marble runs.  I came across this great idea of how to make one on this blog, and of course I had to try and make it.

 

I happened to have some plastic tubes I bought at the dollar tree a long time ago that I don’t use anymore, so I cut them up, glued on the magnets and took them with me when I went to babysit my grandson.  He's only 18  months old, and he liked them, but I think I had more fun than he did.  He’s still a little young to know how to change the tubes around to get different tracks.   AND marbles are not the safest toy for an 18 month old.   AND he started to pull the magnets off the back of the tubes.  Darn hot glue—it doesn’t stick very good.  So I tried gorilla glue.  Nope-won’t stick good to plastic.  I guess I’ll have to go back to the basic toilet tube marble run.  And I bought some bright colored little balls to roll down them instead of marbles (actually I cut up a cheap bead necklace).

 

 

Creating a marble run is a great idea for preschoolers and older children.  There are lots of ideas out there.  Here are a few to look at to get you and your children's creative juices going:

 http://www.frugalfamilyfunblog.com/2011/08/boredom-buster-marble-run.html

http://creativeconnectionsforkids.com/2012/01/fun-with-a-marble-run/ 

 

Thanks for reading,

Cathy

 ********************************************************************************