Frigits Marble Roll (Gift Idea #3)

We bought the Frigits Deluxe marble roll last Christmas. It's been a hit at our house with ages 3* and up...way up. (*This assumes the 3yo does NOT put things in his/her mouth. That would NOT be true of the child I caught in my son's preschool class this morning. I asked him what the lump was in his mouth and he guiltily spit out a marble. True story.)

I bought the marble roll thinking it would be a good exploratory learning tool prior to beginning our math lessons on "measurement with marbles." While it was great for that, it's also been used by numerous visitors (ages 3-adult), my teens, and...heheh...yes, even myself!

The set is magnetized and designed to stick to a refrigerator. My biggest worry prior to purchase was that the magnets wouldn't be strong enough to really stick well on the fridge. It's been a non-issue...the magnets are VERY strong and no part has ever fallen off. Some parts are more "little kid" (preschool) user friendly than others; to use the entire kit really takes some thought or cause/effect construction skills. My 8yo can use all the parts effectively but it takes some effort...effort he is willing to put in because the result is quite fun. We did not buy the Frigits Extension - Launcher or the Frigits Extension - Corners, but my son says "we should buy a bigger fridge so we can get them."

In order to keep the play interesting, I get this out for up to a month at a time and then take it down for a while. It continues to be a sought-after toy!

See more math "Gift and Game" ideas here.

Disclaimer: I bought my own set. Love it. Make nothing from my review unless you purchase one through Amazon, in which case I make a few cents commission at no cost to you.

P.S. This would make a great math/science workbox activity! :)

Mega Marble Rolls!

Over the last five weeks, my class conducted several experiments** with household cardboard tubes, marbles of various masses, and wooden blocks, to see what might produce the desired effects in their culminating project, the "Mega Marble Roll." Today they put their ideas to the test. Each team selected a problem, then designed and built a marble roll to solve it. They would like to share what they learned with you. (And would love it if you would leave them an encouraging comment or two! YOU are their audience!)

**Lessons are taken from "Measurement with Marbles" by the Math Learning Center.

Group #1 Problem: include two uphill and two downhill ramps




Group #2 Problem: include two jumps in your marble course



Groups pose with their finished products:





And a quick demonstration on averaging for the families...



Thank you for visiting our class. Please come again soon! (And the class thanks you for your comments!)

Measurement with Marbles!

Class: Measurement with Marbles!
(lessons/kit available from Math Learning Center)
Dates: February/March 2010
Course Description: Measurement with Marbles gives children an opportunity to use mathematics in the context of scientific research. In this unit, students make ramps with household cardboard tubes to investigate some of the factors that cause marbles to roll farther and faster. They measure the distances their marbles roll (and learn to average) as they change the ramp heights, the ramp lengths, and marble masses. Finally, they apply the understandings they've gained as they design mega-marble rolls -- pathways designed to get the marbles to do a series of specified tasks. (Great for co-ops, btw!)

Do the math...

toilet paper tubes
paper towel tubes
wrapping paper tubes
marbles (of many masses)
wooden blocks
unifix cubes
lots and lots of masking tape
+______________________

= lots and lots and lots of fun, making meaning in MATH!

Quote from one 7yo student: "We've been putting blocks on top of each other to see how far the marble goes. You have to make the unifix cubes so they're even (averaging.) It's really fun!"

Photos from our last class coming soon...MEGA MARBLE ROLLS! ;)