The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting.

Children are naturally drawn to making marks. Long before they pick up a pencil or a paintbrush, they will experiment with making marks using hands, fingers, feet etc. as well as various found objects that they come across in day-to-day life. For children to become really confident and secure mark makers we need to provide them with lots of different opportunities with a variety of exciting mark making resources in many different contexts.

Alistair Bryce-Clegg has collected together a whole host of ideas for different mark making utensils, as well as exploring numerous substances and surfaces that children can make marks on. Some of the ideas will support children to create their own 'masterpieces' while others will encourage them to make marks with other children in a group. As with all Alistair's ideas, 'engaging children' comes top of his list as when children are engaged they make the biggest steps forward on the road to writing and have the most fun!