The first thing I have decided to blog about is mark making and all the many areas of learning it links with!
For anyone who is unfamiliar with the term it means the stage of development where a child begins to experiment with deliberately making marks, scribbles, patterns or shapes. I have had many conversations with parents who believe this is only done with a pencil but I always explain it is much more than that.
Personally I believe that using paint, mud, water, sand, clay or any other material is the first step to mark making. Materials including liquids, solids or malleable materials can be so helpful and fun for children to begin understand how to use their hands to create! It is an amazing thing for a child to experience a cause and effect situation with a material for the first time. Even most adults enjoy the feel of sand and water!
For parents of toddlers, I would recommend any hands-on play which involves experimenting or manipulating different materials. This is not only developing fine motor skills, but also hand-eye coordination as the children will be watching what they are creating. Another important part of this is Creative and Critical thinking. This is something which was including in the UK Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum in 2012.
This involves children; having their own ideas using what they already know to learn new things choosing ways to do things and finding new ways to do things.
This form of thinking can be promoted and explored from an early age by giving children freedom to play with materials and resources where their learning is not limited. I understand children love the colourful and expensive toys in shops, but how much fun and interest do they really get from them? From a developmental point of view I would argue that when children play with sand, water, mud, clay etc they are in control and can build and play as they like.
I have so much more I could write about in this but I will save it for separate entries. This type of mark making is something that can be started with very young children and continued as they get older. I believe children should be given time to explore using materials and making marks in many different environments to become confident writers in later stages of childhood!
My next post will continue this topic of mark making.
Have a wonderful day! 🙂
Niamh, is a Primary School teacher working in the UK. Specialising in Early Years Education, she writes this blog to share creative and fun activities that can help parents and children to enjoy learning together! if you have any questions please email Niamh here
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