The ‘talking’ noises that babies make are the beginnings of talking, and adults usually smile and encourage them.
It is the same with very early scribbles and splodgy hand-prints. These are the beginnings of writing, and need encouraging too. They are also valuable for their own sake as part of a child’s developing creativity.

Meaningful scribbles
When toddlers begin to grasp chunky crayons or paint brushes and realise that their movements can make marks, they often stop, look and try to change them. This shows us that what adults think of as scribbles are meaningful to a one-year-old.
Blobs, arcs, links with spaces in between and crisscross shapes are just some of the repeated patterns one-year-olds may make as they play with paint, felt tips, crayons or chalk.

Squiggles with crayons
Children enjoy making squiggles and shapes on paper. They need lots of practice and encouragement.
Parents can help by:
- Talking to them about their pictures, which is the beginning of story making
- Putting up their child’s pictures, with their name written on them. They will feel proud of their achievement and want to do more!

It helps to have paper and crayons for your child to use. They could be kept in a saved box with your child’s name on it.

At this age large size paper is best. Scrap paper or lining paper are fine. It’s also useful to have some fat crayons, thick washable felt tip pens or chalk.
Children enjoy having their own space to put their pictures such as a cupboard or fridge door.

Playing with spilt food or drink, or mud, sand and water, is another way that young children enjoy making marks.

Practising and repeating
Sometimes it may seem that children make the same shapes over and over again. They need to practise in order to try out new shapes or put familiar ones together in different ways.
Adults can help by looking on, or sometimes by using words to describe their movements.
When a young child feels that her efforts in making marks are valued, she is likely to want to go on exploring.

Things to do at home

Making marks in dough
Make up a generous amount of dough, it will keep for several days in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
This salty dough is easily broken into pieces and finger holes made in it tend to stay.  The dough is so salty that children who try eating it will soon spit it out.

Recipe
1 kilo plain white flour
300 grammes salt
300 ml water
Add the water to the flour and salt until it forms a smooth ball. It should not be too sticky or crumbly.
Put a cover on the kitchen floor and place the dough on a plastic cloth or board. Encourage your child to play with the dough by having a go yourself first - squeezing, pointing in it, pinching, pulling and stretching it, leaving marks and hand prints in it. Give her some containers or spoons to make prints and to use as tools.

Big chalks
Buy the thickest sticks of coloured pavement chalk you can find and show your child how to make marks on a path or a step. The rain washes it off, but your child may love scrubbing it off with a brush and water. Encourage your child to make backwards and forwards movements with the chalk. Watch as your child makes different kinds of marks and talk to her about them: long, short, thick, thin, curvy or straight.