Easy Marble Track

Oliver and I had a blast building our marble track.  The track was easy to build and required team work and a lot of creativity.  This track keeps them busy for quite a while!

Materials Needed:
A Lg. Cardboard box
Duct tape
Paper towel and toilet paper rolls
Marbles 

Instructions to create:
I began by disassembling the cardboard box and folding the top portion over the counter top. We collected our stored up paper rolls and started thinking about how we wanted our track to look. We cut some of the rolls in half and others we wanted to act like tunnels.  At the bottom of the track we folded up the box to create a place for the marbles to collect when they reached the end of the track. You can also mount your cardboard box to the wall and create your track.  I prefer it this way because I can put it away when we are through playing with it.

Teaching Tip: This was a great lesson in trial and error!  We had to continue to run the marbles down the track as we built it.  Many times over we needed to make adjustments so the marbles wouldn't fall off the track.  It was a great accomplishment when we got our first marble to travel all the way down to the bottom! 

In-House Fishing

Especially during the winter, we are always looking for fun activities and games to play in the house!  One of my kids favorite activities this winter is in-door fishing. They usually find a boat to fish in first. They have used bins, beds and my living room table for a boat, but today we made a fishing pond in the basement that proved to be a lot of fun!  

Making the Poles and Fish:

Materials:

• dowel rods 
• magnets
• string
• card stock paper
• large paper clips