Last week, I came across a fantastic activity involving Magnatiles.
The idea is to create a maze using magnetic tiles** and a cookie sheet, and then run a marble through the maze. While it’s a great idea, presenting this as a predetermined maze with a single goal misses out on the beauty of these open-ended materials.
I showed the video to my son, 6, and asked if he was interested. We then gathered materials. I used a 9×13 cake pan because the size was more appropriate for my kids’ arm lengths, and he got to work.
He then added a green beginning and a red ending and started constructing obstacles between the two.
Then he started adding roofs and tunnels to play with running the marble through those elements.
We worked on fine motor control, balance, the pincer grip, spatial skills, executive function and planning, and the scientific concepts of magnetism, friction, inertia, and gravity were all involved, but to them it was play.
They were able to wonder, experiment, create, and test their hypotheses. That’s learning.
** we have this version of magnetic tiles. They’ve served us well for a couple of years now and still going strong.** (Amazon affiliate link – ** any links to resources on the Amazon website are part of the affiliate program. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. There is NO pressure to buy. 🙂 **)