I saw a marble run made from a pool noodle here http://myhomespunthreads.blogspot.com/2011/05/day-5-marble-racetrack-with-serving.html and knew I had to try it!
We made our very own, very basic version of this marble racetrack. I cut the pool noodle (which I got at the dollar store) in half, and used tooth picks at each end to hold them together. I gathered up a few different sized balls - marble, a jacks ball, a little plastic ball and a slightly larger soft ball - so she could experiment with which one went faster. (The marble won every time.)
But Kay didn't stay interested in this as long as I thought, and she soon came up with her own games: rolling the marble back and forth while holding the noodle in a U-shape or putting one half of the noodle on the floor and just pushing the marble along. Ultimately, I was happy she came up with her own ideas for this. Activities I think of for her usually turn out like this - I come up with something I think she'll love and she's either not interested or she does her own thing with the material. Ah, well. Imagination isn't a crime. :)
But Kay didn't stay interested in this as long as I thought, and she soon came up with her own games: rolling the marble back and forth while holding the noodle in a U-shape or putting one half of the noodle on the floor and just pushing the marble along. Ultimately, I was happy she came up with her own ideas for this. Activities I think of for her usually turn out like this - I come up with something I think she'll love and she's either not interested or she does her own thing with the material. Ah, well. Imagination isn't a crime. :)