Marble effect paint prints

I was looking for an easy activity to keep my three boys and two nieces entertained on a rainy afternoon play date. I turned to the good old sensory tray and bucket load of paint.

I asked all of the kids to choose any combination of colours and then to swirl them into a pattern with the end of a straw. The twins, being the youngest, tended to use large dollops of paint which they hardly mixed, while the older ones used the straws to create beautiful marble effect patterns in their paint combinations. Once happy with their patter they gently placed card over the paint, resulting in unique paint prints.

Once we had ran out of work top space to dry their creations all five of the kids mixed the remaining paint together in the tray and drew self-portraits. My sister in law also got the kids to say how the paint felt using different descriptive words. All of the kids, from four up to nine, had a great time and luckily for us, mess remained at a minimum. I absolutely love the sensory tray!