Keep in mind that marbles are a choking hazard so you have to watch little ones around them. That said, little ones love watching the marbles go down the ramp. There are some ramps with larger balls that are safe for the younger set.
There are multiple levels of therapeutic value with a Marble Maze. Starting with the basic skills, it encourages reach and grasp to pick up the marbles and place them on the maze.
Motor control and visual perceptual skills are worked on when getting the marble to the right place on the maze. If the maze is tall enough, you can work on upper extremity strength and range of motion.
You need more strength , coordination, motor control, visual perception, and cognition in order to put the maze together and take it apart.
You can get by with a cheap maze if you help the client or they have pretty good skills. The higher quality and more expensive mazes do stay together better, don’t break as easily, and stand up on their own better. If you want the client to do it independently, and higher quality one is probably a good idea. I’m not saying this because I think you should spend money, I’m just telling you what I have learned from experience. I have used a good one from Discovery Toys, and I have used one from the dollar spot at Target. I also have one in between the two in price. I still use the dollar one, but I have to help a lot to keep it from falling apart. If the child using it wanted to do it himself, he wouldc get frustrated by it falling apart. The children I have used it with didn’t care, they just wanted to watch the marbles.
There you have it. A monologue on marble mazes. What more could you want out of life?
- Upper extremity motor control
- Fine motor control
- Upper extremity strength
- Visual perceptual
- Range of motion
- Reach and grasp