Mark Making in Early Years – Why Painting and Drawing Is More Than Just Mixing Colours 🎨

At Fun Box Day Nursery, we love seeing our children dive into painting and drawing – but did you know these activities are about so much more than creating colourful masterpieces? Over the past couple of weeks, our wonderful teachers have been exploring new ways to encourage mark making in early years, all while supporting children’s whole-body development and learning through play.

Of course, painting and drawing are fantastic tools for self-expression, but they also open the door to endless learning opportunities. Let us share just a few examples from our recent activities:

Mark Making in Early Years: Building Mathematical and Spatial Thinking

Mark making can help children develop an early understanding of maths and shapes. Recently, our children decorated a 3D cube we built from cling film stretched around an upside-down table. As they worked their way around, they were exploring space, shape and form in the most creative way.

Exploring Physical Concepts 🚗💨

Sometimes painting leads to little science experiments too! Our children loved racing toy cars through trays of paint, then sending them down a slide lined with paper. They were not only creating exciting patterns but also experimenting with ideas like speed, motion, and velocity – all through play.

Strengthening Growing Bodies

Big mark making isn’t just fun – it’s brilliant for developing physical skills. Large sheets of paper encourage children to use their core muscles and upper body strength as they stretch, roll, and reach while drawing on the floor.

Splatter painting with fly swatters gave them a chance to use their shoulders and elbows in bold, energetic movements. These kinds of activities are key stepping stones towards writing.

As a general rule: the younger the child, the bigger the paper! ✨

How Mark Making in Early Years Supports the Journey Towards Writing ✍️

Before children can learn to write, they need to build strong foundations through physical development. It starts with gross motor skills (big movements like crawling, jumping and climbing) which strengthen the body and provide stability. From there, children refine their movements through the elbow and wrist, before finally learning to control the small muscles in their fingers – essential for holding a pencil and forming letters.

At Fun Box Day Nursery, we follow the EYFS curriculum, so these activities aren’t just fun – they’re carefully planned to meet children’s developmental needs and interests.

Discovering Textures and Techniques

Painting on different surfaces – from paper to cling film to textured materials – teaches children that every material behaves differently. This helps them to adapt, experiment, and find creative solutions, skills that are useful far beyond the art table.

At the heart of it all, mark making in early years isn’t just about colours on a page. It’s about giving children opportunities to explore, experiment, strengthen their bodies, and express their unique ideas. And of course, it’s also about having lots of fun along the way! 🌟