What is mark making in the early years?

Mark making is the creation of physical lines, patterns, and symbols on a surface using hands, fingers, or various tools. This essential developmental process represents a child’s first steps toward writing, helping them understand that physical marks can carry meaning and communicate ideas.

In early childhood education, mark making is far more than just a pre-writing exercise. This practice combines sensory exploration and physical development, helping children explore their world, build physical control, and discover how to represent their thoughts visually.

Scribbles as a form of communication

When children first pick up a marker or paint with their fingers, their marks are often random, energetic scribbles. To an adult, these marks might look like messy scribbles on a page, but to a young child, they are loaded with meaning. A single circular scribble might represent a dog running, a parent, or an entire story.

As children experiment with different mediums, they connect their physical movements with the marks left behind. Over time, these random movements become intentional. Children discover that they can create lines and shapes to represent real-world objects, which is the beginning of symbolic thinking. Recognizing early scribbles as valid communication shows children that their ideas are valuable.

Mark making and physical development

Before a child can write letters or draw shapes with control, they must develop the physical strength and coordination required to handle writing utensils. This physical preparation begins with large movements and gradually refines into smaller, more precise control.

Early mark making supports physical development in several ways:

• Developing motor control: Using thick crayons, chalk, or paintbrushes builds shoulder and arm strength, providing the stability needed for finer movements.
• Improving finger coordination: Picking up items like charcoal sticks or small chalk pieces helps develop the finger muscles needed for a mature pencil grip.
• Enhancing hand-eye coordination: Guiding a tool to make a specific mark requires the eyes and hands to work together, a skill refined through trial and error.

Under the UK Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework, mark making is a key element of both physical development and literacy. Practitioners in nursery and reception settings observe these marks to gauge a child’s pre-writing readiness. Providing varied, open-ended activities helps children build the coordination needed to transition to formal writing when ready.

Creative ideas for a mark-making station

A dedicated mark-making station provides children with continuous, self-directed opportunities to practice their skills. A well-designed station does not need to be expensive or complicated. Instead, it should offer a variety of inviting textures, surfaces, and tools that encourage children to explore.

Here are four practical ideas to set up an engaging mark-making station:

1. Sensory trays: Fill a shallow tray with a thin layer of sand, salt, or shaving foam. Children can use their fingers, paintbrushes, or sticks to trace lines and curves in the material.
2. Varying surfaces: Provide different paper types, including cardboard boxes, packing paper, and smooth foil. Secure a large roll of paper to a wall to encourage large, whole-arm movements as they draw.
3. A range of drawing tools: Offer tools of different thicknesses and textures. Include chunky chalks, charcoal sticks, fat markers, and thin colored pencils to help children practice different finger grips.
4. Wipe-clean boards: Set up whiteboards with dry-erase markers or small chalkboards with wet sponges. The ability to wipe away a mark and start over reduces the pressure on children who may feel frustrated by mistakes.

Responding to early marks: describe, do not correct

When a child presents their drawings, the way adults respond can shape their attitude toward writing. It is natural to want to guess what the drawing is, but asking a question like “what is that?” can sometimes make a child feel that their drawing was not correct.

Instead of guessing or correcting, describe what you observe. For example, you might say, “I see you made long blue loops across the top,” or “You used green lines in the middle.” This descriptive feedback shows children that you value their effort while providing them with the vocabulary to describe their own work on their own terms.

Supporting early literacy development with Superbuddy

To support this development, Superbuddy offers a growing catalog of early-childhood resources for children aged 2 to 6. Our collection includes step-by-step lesson plans, targeted tasksheets, and comprehensive weekly packages across our six learning domains.

Our library is organized by age bands, including Pre-Nursery (ages 2–3), Nursery (ages 3–4), and KG (ages 4–6), featuring lesson plans and targeted tasksheets across six learning domains.

You can browse our early literacy hub or our fine motor skills hub to download hands-on activity plans. A free account is free to start and includes five download credits per month to print resources from our full resource library.