Mark making activities and ideas ..

[Ruthierhyme]

What slightly more unusual mark making tools and activities have you organised for your setting?

Quills were once an experience, we also very much enjoyed paint dipped marbles rolled in a tin lined with paper..

Mark making tools on Amazon - Brushes, crayons, chalk, paint, straws, sculpting tools,

they are loving large paint brushes dipping in water and painting on the wall outside at the moment

[Miss Muffet]

A really messy one could be - tape lots of large pieces of paper/cards together and use a mop to paint with:rotfl:

"Driving" the toy cars through paint then driving them around the paper.

Sponge pan scourers in paint.

Bubble wrap is good - get them to paint the bubbly side then lay a sheet of paper on top.

We do the water/paint brushes outside thing too.

Toes

[suewhit]

we bought some wooden sticks shaped like fat pencils they are for writing in sand but also work in foam and finger paint.
the children also like decorators combs to make patterns and large decorating rollers for large areas outside
sue

Shaving brushes are good in paint, easier than paint brushes for little hands,

feathers in paint

toothbrushes

fingers in sand or flour

[Ruthierhyme]

This mark making list has been put together from all the replies and other shared experiences across the forums.

Please feel free to add on ..

Mark making items
Pencils
Pens
Crayons
Chalks
Pastels
Paintbrushes
Toothbrushes
Combs
Ice cubes
Frozen Paints
Cotton buds
Small car wheels
Cotton reel rolling
Dish mops
Scouring pads
Fir cone
Glue sticks
Fingers
Toes
Hands
String of beads
Rope
Cord
Wool
Ribbon
String
Tinsel
Twigs
Plant stalks - straw
Paint rollers
Highlighter pens
Droppers
Squeezy bottles and tubes
Wind up movement toys - dipped in paint (will need to be cleaned !!)

Mediums and surfaces
Foam
Sand
Gloop - Cornflour
Custard
Silly putty
Sandpaper - Waxed crayon
Clay
Playdough
Notepads
Paper
Tray of grit - Fish tank stones
Lentils
Rice
Sawdust
Soil
Wet mud
Glue spread on a surface & sprinkled glitter - pencils or sticks to make marks.
Windows
Tiled walls
Paper tissues - Felt pens and water
Mirrors
Table tops
Sheets of foil

Clothes pegs can be used as handles to hold mark making things like scrunched up rags or cotton wool pads or balls of wool.

Activities
Marbling
Stencils
Tracing
Tea bag mark making
Cotton ball mark making
Button chasing - use pencils with tips placed inside the holes of large buttons and chase them around on a chosen medium !!
Marbles & paint rolling - supervision is a consideration for risk of choking.

Commercial
Etch a sketch type toys
Magic writers / boards with lift & erase sheets

Role play
Telephone messages
Order taking
Letters & envelopes
Shopping lists
Menu development
Labelling & tag making - plants, gifts, jars
Garage maintenance check lists - how many wheele the vehicle/sit 'n ride has, steering wheels, is it petrol, gas, electric, or man powered - pedals, colour, shape, what problem the vehicle is experiencing ..

little washing up liquid mixed with paint,then using a large paintbrush(decorating type)painting on foil,acetate or other slippery/shiny surfaces-children love the way the paint glides on the surface.

chalk on dark sugar paper

leaf or coin rubbings or anything else interesting with a raised surface.To make it more interesting tape a piece of paper over the items,children roll crayons on the side to reveal what's under the paper.

[Ruthierhyme]

I've recieved an excellent idea for another mark making activity using balloons.

Please note that you may need to check with children, parents/ carers and staff as to how everyone feels about balloons prior to planning & preparing the activity ..

Balloon Painting

1. Partly blow up a balloon

2. Set out a variety of paint colours on a paper plate. One colour for each paint

3. Cover a table with large sheets of paper.

4. Dip a balloon in paint and start dabbling! Balloon are easy for little hands to hold. Lovely sound effects and lots of interesting patterns.

5. An option is to cover your sheet of paper randomly with various post it shapes. Remove them when the paint dries.

Many thanks