Mark Making at Home

This week we sent home bags of paper for you to explore mark making at home.  If you did not receive a bag yours is waiting for you at school.

Mark Making is a foundational way for our youngest children to explore, communicate, and make sense of their world. Mark Making refers to the simple but powerful act of creating marks, whether that's a line, a swirl, a dot, or a shape, on any surface available, be it paper, a classroom floor, the outdoor garden, or even on a toy. For infants, Mark Making often starts with random scribbles or dots, but each of these small actions is a step toward developing skills that will eventually support early writing.
Why is Mark Making important for infants?
Mark Making is more than just the early stages of writing; it's a sensory-rich, physical experience that all children can enjoy, regardless of age or ability. It's a safe space for self-expression and discovery. Besides supporting early writing, mark-making is also the beginning of mathematical thinking, as children start to recognize patterns, lines, and shapes. Every mark they make is a chance to communicate and create, and our role is to encourage and value every attempt.
How does mark-making support a child's learning?
Through mark-making, infants can:

• Explore new textures and concepts through their senses
• Express their thoughts and ideas visually
• Begin to understand the world around them
• Experiment with problem-solving, like figuring out how to make a mark appear
• Express their feelings through different marks and strokes

“All the children, according to the different ages, chose and explored the materials at their disposal with curiosity, engagement and fun.” ~Reggio Children, Mosaic of Marks, Words, Materials

Parents are active partners and guides in their child’s education, with a valuable role in their child’s growth and development. We invite you to share your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions on how we might continue our exploration and research into Mark Making. 
To support this, we’ve provided a bag filled with various types of paper for you and your child to explore and create marks together.

Look around your home.
What materials or tools could you use for Mark Making?
Think of traditional tools like pens, markers, or crayons, but also consider non-traditional items like sticks, food, household tools, or even water.
What Mark Making tools can you and your child discover together?

As you set up this experience, think of the paper and tools as an invitation to explore with your child.  Much like an artist arranging a palette, consider what your Mark Making setup invites you and your child to try.
How does the background enhance or shift the experience?
What makes the arrangement of materials inviting?
What possibilities do the quality and variety of tools suggest?

These questions can help you create a space for curiosity and discovery in your mark-making adventure together.

Here are are a few presentation examples:

There is no one way or right way to enjoy this experience. We would love to see how your child interacts with these materials, so please take a few photos or a video of your child interacting with these materials you collected and that were sent home.

Here is a google album to add your photos and videos to. 

Please consider these questions when working with these materials with your child:

• The Materials
  • What is the material(s) doing? 
  • How is the material(s) responding to the invitations from the child, or not? 
  • What is the material feeling, suggesting, verbalizing?
• Your child
  • What is your child doing?
  • How is your child responding to the invitations from the material, or not?
  • What is your child feeling, suggesting, verbalizing?
• You
  • What are you doing?
  • How are you responding to the invitations from the material and your child, or not?
  • What are you feeling, suggesting and verbalizing?

Please consider these questions when reflecting on this experience:

• How did your child engage with the materials differently than you might have expected?​
• What emotions did you observe your child experiencing during this activity?
• Were there any moments where your child sought help or guidance, or did they explore independently?
• How did your child’s interactions with the materials change over time?
• Did your child incorporate any prior knowledge or skills into this experience?
• How might you or your child add to or modify the materials to extend their exploration next time?
• What aspects of the experience seemed to capture your child’s curiosity the most?
• In what ways did this experience reflect your child’s unique interests or personality?

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We look forward to seeing pictures and reading about your mark making adventures at home.

Here are some images of today's explorations and adventures, including working with paper similar to that if the bag sent home: