Mark Making – seeing beyond the scribble

If your child goes to nursery or a childminder you might have come across the phrase ‘mark making’. But what does it really mean – isn’t your toddler just scribbling?  

Learning to write is complicated – your toddler will need to understand that letters and words can be used to share meaning; they will need to hear the sounds in words and know which ones to use; they need the physical skills to write the letters and the sensory skills to combine information from what they see and feel to adjust their writing as they go.  

When I do this … I see this … 

At first, when your toddler pushed their finger through spilt food, or scraped a stick into mud they were just seeing how it felt to move.[1] 

Now, they have more control of their movements and know that when they move in a particular way they can make a mark.  

They will want to see what shapes they can make – they might draw a circular scribble or some up and down marks. We don’t call this writing, but it is a huge leap on their journey towards being able to write. 

Why mark making?  

The first time your toddler puts crayon to paper or stick to mud – they aren’t exactly drawing or writing. They are finding out what shapes they can make when they move in different ways – we often call this a scribble.  

But, scribble just doesn’t sound as amazing as these first marks really are – so early years professionals talk about mark making.  

This can be any lines or squiggles your toddler makes – it doesn’t need to be pen on paper, it could be finger in flour, stick in mud or hand on soapy shower screen!  

As your toddler moves from random marks to more planned shapes and squiggles, they are showing that they can control their movements and are able to plan to move in a particular way to make their mark.  

The resulting marks might look random but aren’t, and they might be important to your toddler – so they will want you to admire them!  

To help your toddler with their mark making, keep moving, chatting, reading and singing 

When you see these marks, it might be tempting to move your toddler on – to get them following lines or drawing circles. But resist temptation.  

Remember, their future drawing (and writing) will depend on lots of skills, and they need to keep developing these at their own pace. So, make time for your toddler to move, chat, listen to stories and rhymes, and make marks when they want to, and know when you do this, you’re nurturing their writing skills as well as having fun. 

And don’t feel your toddler needs a neat little colouring book, tracing set or even to sit at a table and draw. They move their whole arm when they make marks now, so really do need lots of space to move when they make their mark!   

Reference:  

[1] Birth to Five Matters (undated). Early Writing. Available at https://birthto5matters.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Early-Writing.pdf