Marble Painting (Rainy Day Fun and Magic)

Today was our first session after a long break and we were so excited to see each other again and to welcome our new Clubhouse friend.

Music Time “Elbow to Elbow”: Footprints were placed on the floor so that two sets of footprints faced each other. First, we danced around when the music played, and then we found a footprint to stand on when the music stopped. While facing our partner, we let certain body parts touch (e.g., elbow to elbow) to greet each other. We all contributed ideas what body parts could touch. Here are some examples: hands to hands, knees to knees. nose to nose, back to back. This game is a great ice-breaker game in smaller and larger groups.

Small Group Art Project “Marble Painting”: We worked in small groups (2 to 3 students) and inserted paper (e.g., construction paper) into a cardboard mailing tube. Then, we added paint with a spoon (different colors) and marbles (2-3), closed the tube and shook the tube. It was very exciting when the paper was taken out of the tube and opened up to reveal the beautiful patterns the marbles had created on the paper. Some tips to make this activity successful: Make sure that the students place the color blobs onto the paper, demonstrate how to cover the lids of the tube with your hands while shaking the tube so the marbles won't come flying out.

Some interactive strategies:

• One peer holds the tube while his partner adds paint to the paper.
• Students can experiment and brainstorm different ways of shaking the tube.
• Peers can cheer for their partner who is shaking the tube.