Mark making ideas please?

[Mouse]

One area I know I need to improve on is providing more opportunities for mark making indoors.

I don't leave pens & crayons out all the time as I have a younger children who would either eat them or scribble on my walls. We do mark making activities indoors, but I want something that is accessible at all times.

What do you have?

[thills]

I currently keep mark making things in a cupboard the bigger ones know they can help themselves too, which works, but interested to hear other people's ideas

[hectors house]

I have pens, pencils & paper on the dining room table each day - the older children can climb up on their own into booster seats if they want to do mark making, but the little ones can't reach - often I then end up sitting up the little ones as they want to be doing the same. Or maybe you could get an aqua draw, magna doodle sort of thing? How about an easel and chalks?

[Boris]

I have wax crayons and paper out all the time, also little chalk boards and chalks but they are not free access! Good suggestions from Hector's House. Also a tray with a very thin layer of sand works well but might be messy if you have Lo's that will tip it everywhere! Have you tired the paint in ziplock bags? If not, that's a good one. You get some zip-lock food bags and put a good squirt of paint in to the bag (you might need a bit of water depending on the consistency), cellotape the bag to a surface like a table (we used windows which was great), make sure you tape all around the edges and it's as flat as you can get it. Then let the Lo's make marks in the paint with no mess.

[Kirstylob]

Some great ideas that i will pinch, i like the ziplock bags with paint in.
I have pens on the table too, out of reach of little ones.
We also have magnetic drawing boards , like a more modern magna doodle , do you know what i mean?

[AgentTink]

i have a chalk board and chalk out for free access and the children ahve never drew anywhere except on the chalk board. i also have out my aqua doodle mats often, and also a magnetic drawing board. Another good thing I put with the chalk board is small pots of water and paintbrushes and the children play for ages with the water on the chalk board.

Also attached to my home/kitchen area is a clipboard with paper on every day and a pen attached by a short bit of string so the pen cant just go walkies around the house.

[freckleonear]

I have art and craft supplies in a cupboard freely accessible to the older ones. Younger toddlers love my chalkboard easel with a non-spill paint pot of water and a paintbrush for mess-free mark making.

[Amandak28]

Hi, how about chalk for out side on the path/patio?
I was in the 99p shop today an bought a white board with pen maybe you could get a few or those?

I like the idea of having wax crayons out as they are suitable for all ages.

And i also have the aqua doodle mat. Well worth buying!

You could make some sand wet, shaving foam, or wet flour make into paste and then put on trays so it can be used for mark making?



Good luck :)

[The Juggler]

indoors

etch a sketch and chalk boards as well as pens pencils crayons freely in reach for older ones and put out whenever for littler toddlers who eat them.

In lounge, I have a pad in my home corner and in my tool box - I use a bluntish grey pencil, that way if anything does get scribbled on out of my gaze it wipes off or rubs out. I have done this for about 5 years and tbh rarely has any child even the under 2's written on my walls. I've had a few scribbles on teh play phone next to the pad but they learn pretty quickly not to walk round with the pencil in hand and to write on the paper.

Outdoors, chalks, easel and paintbrushes for water painting.

[Toothfairy]

Magnetic drawing boards, iPad, laptop, aqua draw, chalk board and water.

[Mouse]

Thank you - some great ideas there :D

I only have pre-school children here, mainly 3yrs & under. The tables they use are all low level, so no chance of putting things out of reach!

I like the idea of water & blackboards. I've got some spill free paint pots, so might get those out. But I suppose even if the water does tip, it's not going to make much mess. I saw on Facebook where someone had painted a table top with blackboard paint. I've got some of that in the garage, so can feel a painting session coming on! With limited space I need to make sure my resources have as many uses as possible - a blackboard table would save the space of a chalkboard :thumbsup:

I also like the idea of a pen/pencil on string. The children love playing offices with phones, calculators & old diaries. Pencils on string would be a fab edition!

We have done the paint in zip top bags before. I use hair gel, which I find squidges better than paint alone.

[Supernanny86]

We love the zip lock bags too.


Mine also love water painting with brushes on the decking, fences. Chalking too. They also love the magic painting books that just use water.

Have fun!! :D

[clareelizabeth1]

I have a giant chalk board and always leave chalks on the table next to it never had anything written on the wall until I allowed my brother to take his children in to my playroom alone. Never again.

[thills]

We have done the ziplock bags this morning and my little ones have really enjoyed them, especially my little one who doesn't like getting messy!
My 6yr old was practisicing his spellings on them too!


I just ordered a self adhesive blackboard from amazon, that u can reposition & move about, thought if would be great on my patio doors, either on the inside or outside!

[wellybelly]

chalks
Pencils
Pencil crayons
Waxed crayons
Biro pens
Felt tip pens
On notebooks
on clipboards
On coloured paper
Paint with coffee granules
Paint with sand
Paint with cornmeal
Paint with pulses
Paint with rice
Paint with salt
Paint with pom poms on pegs
Paint with flowers
Paint with forks
Paint with fir cones
Paint with spaghetti
Paint with string
Paint with hairbrushes
Paint with scourers
Paint with transport toys
Paint with marbles
Paint with cotton wool balls
Paint with cotton buds
Paint with scrunched paper balls
Paint with straws
Paint with buttons
Paint with cotton reels
Paint with cookie cutters
Paint with sponges
Paint with wooden blocks
Paint with lolly sticks
Paint with plastic small world toys
Paint with turkey baster
Paint with feathers
Paint with toothbrushes
Paint with squeezy bottles to spray
Paint with rice
Paint with bubble wrap
Paint with brushes
Paint with leaves
Paint with twigs
Paint with fruit
Paint with vegetables
Paint with popcorn
Paint with potato mashers
Paint with fingers
Paint with paint brushes
Paint with hands or feet
Paint with water beads
Paint with syringes
Paint with pastry brushes
Paint with pipe cleaners
Paint with pipe cleaner shapes
Paint with stencils
Paint with spatulas
Paint with balls
Paint with shapes
Paint with wooden people
Symmetry butterflies
Symmetry hearts
On wall paper on patio
On a4 paper
On small paper
On zig zag paper
In tough spot
On clipboards
In soil
In flour
In gloop
Car Ramps through paint

[singingcactus]

I have magna doodle boards, aqua doodl sheets, magnetic letters, numbers, and shapes, hammer, nails and shapes, wiki sticks for sticking to the doors, walls etc, chalk boards etc these are always available and mess free.
I also have available, pens, pencils, crayons, white boards markers, felt markers, stickers, block paints etc available all the time. The kids are pretty good at keeping it together, if they get silly it is time for a new activity.

[hectors house]

chalks
Pencils
Pencil crayons
Waxed crayons
Biro pens
Felt tip pens
On notebooks
on clipboards
On coloured paper
Paint with coffee granules
Paint with sand
Paint with cornmeal
Paint with pulses
Paint with rice
Paint with salt
Paint with pom poms on pegs
Paint with flowers
Paint with forks
Paint with fir cones
Paint with spaghetti
Paint with string
Paint with hairbrushes
Paint with scourers
Paint with transport toys
Paint with marbles
Paint with cotton wool balls
Paint with cotton buds
Paint with scrunched paper balls
Paint with straws
Paint with buttons
Paint with cotton reels
Paint with cookie cutters
Paint with sponges
Paint with wooden blocks
Paint with lolly sticks
Paint with plastic small world toys
Paint with turkey baster
Paint with feathers
Paint with toothbrushes
Paint with squeezy bottles to spray
Paint with rice
Paint with bubble wrap
Paint with brushes
Paint with leaves
Paint with twigs
Paint with fruit
Paint with vegetables
Paint with popcorn
Paint with potato mashers
Paint with fingers
Paint with paint brushes
Paint with hands or feet
Paint with water beads
Paint with syringes
Paint with pastry brushes
Paint with pipe cleaners
Paint with pipe cleaner shapes
Paint with stencils
Paint with spatulas
Paint with balls
Paint with shapes
Paint with wooden people
Symmetry butterflies
Symmetry hearts
On wall paper on patio
On a4 paper
On small paper
On zig zag paper
In tough spot
On clipboards
In soil
In flour
In gloop
Car Ramps through paint

Wow what a list - but you forgot printing in paint with dinosaur feet!