Grab Your Potato Masher, Cake Carrier And Toy Cars For These 8 Innovative EYFS Mark-Making Ideas
Put the pens and paintbrushes to one side, for tonight we make our mark with marbels, loo rolls and more
- by Teachwire
Writing with vegetables might not be a technique you want to use in your next staff meeting (but who knows, it might catch on, and you’ll definitely be the talk of the town), but it can be a whole lot of fun for young kids, and a great help to their development.
Here are a selection of creative ways you can let children explore mark marking in your Early Years setting.
1 Watercolour painting on kitchen roll
Pipettes, kitchen roll and some watercolours, that’s about all you’ll need. Then you can let enjoy the abstract art as colours mix and move across the paper.
Go to teaching2and3yearolds.com for details.
2 Zig-zag painting
This activity uses a Tuff Spot filled with paints lined up in a zig-zag pattern. Well, it starts that way at least. Once children start rolling balls across the tray they’ll have added their own creative signature to your neat lines in no time.
Find out more at Adventures of Adam.
3 Painting with marbles
For a similar, smaller variation, corbychildminder.co.uk suggests using a cheap cake carrier and marbles dipped in paint. Let the good times roll.
4 Loo roll prints
Talking of rolls, this activity from gettingmessywithmsjessi.com makes use of something you’ve no doubt got an abundance of in your setting – toilet rolls (once empty, of course).
5 Masher print painting
Let’s get out of the toilet and into the kitchen now though, by using old utensils to create amazing print patterns in paint.
Head to childcentralstation,com for inspiration.
6 Bubble-wrap printing
More abstract art ideas now, this time from artbarblog.com, using bubble-wrap and rollers to create giant colourful canvases you can hang on the wall.
Added bonus, if you use yellow paint your bubble-wrap roller looks like corn on the cob. Doesn’t taste like it though. Does not taste like it.
7 Writing, printing and painting with carrots
Here we are. The carrots. We’ve probably built them up too much now, but still. You’re mark making with carrots. What’s not to love?
Head to Nurture Store to find out what you can do with these crunchy orange delights.
8 Drawing with cars
Ditto this fantastic idea from Clare’s Little Tots. Kids love colours, kids love cars. So go ahead and make the most vibrant vehicle-related imagery since the utterly joyous Speed Racer movie:
