Roll a Marble Through the Door

1. 1

   A small challenge can give your child an inviting reason to try, adjust, and keep going. Today, make a route of little gates for a marble.

2. 2

   Cut several strips of colored paper. Bend each strip into an arch and tape the ends inside a shallow cardboard box, leaving enough space between the gates.

3. 3

   Place a marble in the box and demonstrate tilting the box gently to guide it through one gate.

4. 4

   Invite your child to try. They can tilt the box in different directions and adjust the angle until the marble passes through a gate. If it misses, encourage another attempt.

5. 5

   Once your child can guide the marble through the gates, invite them to write the numbers 1 through 5 on the gates and try following the route in order.

6. 6

   Now the marble needs to travel from one numbered gate to the next. If it goes through the wrong gate, reposition the box and try again.

What to notice

• Keeps adjusting the angle and trying again when the marble does not pass through Cognitive Self-Regulation (Executive Functioning)
• Writes the numbers 1 through 5 on the small doors in order Counting and Cardinality

Tips

• When the numbered route becomes easy, try a new sequence using the gates you have, such as 1, 3, 5 or 2, 4.

Developmental benefits

• Cognitive: Repeatedly guiding a marble through a small gate gives your child practice changing strategies and persisting when the first attempt does not work.