Marble Painting – Abstract Art and Bilateral Coordination: a winning combination!
By: Diana V. Mendez-Hohmann
Bilateral coordination refers to the action of using the right and left sides of your body together in a smooth and efficient manner. Babies develop bilateral coordination first by stabilizing an object such as a pail while filing it with sand. (From Rattles To Writing; A Parent’s Guide to Hand Skills by Barbara A. Smith, MS, OTR/L)
When someone has difficulty with bilateral coordination, they can have difficulty with daily tasks. Think of everything you do using both sides of your body together; Dressing, tying shoes, buttoning, drawing, writing, catching and throwing even crawling and walking.
This month’s activity is Marble Painting will get you to practice bilateral coordination. See below for all the steps.
You will need:
- Finger-paints
- Paper
- Marbles
- Card Board Box top, Large Shoe Box, or back of frame.
Process
- Tape the paper to the inside of the box, or frame.
- Place a dollop of paint on either side of the paper. I used 4 colors.
- Place a marble on each dollop of paint.
- Using both hand hold the box and move the marbles over the paper.
- Continue to move the marbles until the paper is covered with paint or you are satisfied with the design.
- Remove paper and set aside to dry.
- Start all over again- See how many marbles you can use.
Other Ideas
- This is a great activity for anyone who does not like to get messy as they really don’t have to finger paint. They are just moving marbles around in a box.
- Have 2 children do the activity, each child holds one side of the box.
- Use different sized marbles.
- Use more or fewer colors.
- Change the placement of the paint.
Send us a picture of your Marble Painting, or post it on Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter with the hashtag #Therapro