Marble Painted Apples

Make sure you add some process art to your fall activity line-up this year with these Marble Painted Apples! My girls have done this type of painting several times, and they're excited about it each time! It's really fun to watch the paper slowly get covered with paint, even though it seems like such little progress is being made. It's also great fine motor work for them to try to tip and gently shake the box just the right way to get the marbles to move.

I think your kids will really enjoy this project just as much as mine did!

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Gather Materials For Marble Painted Apples

You probably have everything you need for this project at home already. Here's what you need!

box lid, or a whole box (with deeper sides) for younger kids
paint (our favorite is Crayola Washable Kids Paint)
marbles
paintbrushes
printable apple template
scissors
tape
glue stick
construction paper for backing

Prepare Materials

Print your apple template (or free hand draw one if you're brave!) and tape it inside the box lid.

Squirt or pour little dollops of paint in several places around the lid. Add some marbles.

Start Painting Your Apples

Let your child start rolling the marbles back and forth. It takes a while for the marbles to get sufficiently covered in paint, but keep rolling!

If the marbles get stuck, you can use a plastic spoon or paintbrush to nudge them along their way.

Depending on the age of your child, you may want to stand nearby to be sure they're not rolling too vigorously-- you don't wait paint covered marbles to jump out of the box and roll around your house!

Lena (young 6) was able to manage this just fine on her own. Maggie (4) needed a little more supervision, but overall did well with just the right amount of rolling and shaking.

Watch as the apple slowly gets covered with red paint!

When your child is satisfied with their work, use a paint brush to add a green leaf and brown stem. We ended up adding 2 coats of paint so that the colors would show up better. Set the apples aside to dry.