Hi, our children really enjoy mark making in dry sand with paint brushes and foam brushes and of course their fingers. We also use salt and shaving foam in the same way. We usually add sparkly gel numbers/mirrored letters and numbers to these as well. Other materils we use for very simple mark making, i.e. making patterns, using srcappers etc. are mashed potatoe (fairly watery), or corn flour. Some activiites that have encourage mark making by children who dont usually mark make are, having to sign out bikes like thery are police cars, birthday cards and invitations for a birthday party for a favourite nusery toy and designing a dinosaur for harry out of Harry and his Bucketful of dinosaurs. I hope at least some of that is helpful.

 What age group?

Sorry-I should have said earlier! Reception age. I like the idea of mashed potato (:

What's wrong with paper and pencils? Give them a variety of paper and writing implements to choose in your writing area, include different colours and sizes, post-it notes, envelopes, rolls of paper etc. and access to glue sticks, sellotape, paper clips. Have clipboards and pens or pencils, post its, notebooks, exercise books, etc. placed in all your other areas so they can writie while they are there.

At the moment I've got scrolls made from paper discoloured with tea bags and rolled up in my castle role play along with a quill pen made from a feather taped to a biro. I've got a clipboard next to some castle and knights small world play and they use it for noting down the score between two sets of knights, I haven't been able to fathom their rules yet but never mind!  I've got small world superhero characters made from laminated photos of some of the boys dressed up and mounted on wooden blocks placed on my Author's table with appropriate vocabulary and small blank books for them to write in, these are well used. Laminated photos of other children are mixed with the wooden fairytale characters in a fairytale small world setting along with a clipboard, I haven't had much writing in that area yet but a lot of verbal story telling. Don't forget paper on clipboards, long rolls of wallpaper as well as whiteboards and pens, chalkboards and large chalks for writing on the ground outside.

 In the past I've had paper and a plastic bottle near pirate small world play and they used it for writing messages. It was hard getting the scrunched up paper out of the bottle but certain reluctant boys improved rapidly.

Most important - celebrate any writing that they do. Share it with the class - praise the letter formation, the quantity, the firm positive pencil strokes, the attempt at using letter sounds, anything positive at all - the other children will take their cue from this and want to get in on it.

 I agree with InkyP mashed potato is fun and so is paint and sand and mud and ... but in reception they need to use pen/pencil and paper and sometimes reluctant boys have to do things they don't automatically choose. It's not what they use to mark make with it's giving it a purpose that is important and why any child chooses to write.

 I agree. 

Our nursery boys were very taken with  paper sellotaped to the underside of tables.  They lay on cushions and had a lot of fun - good for hand strength too.

Letter formation is of prime importance [sorry to state the obvious] in reception and you need something a lot more structured and, yes, monitor-able than vague squishy activities if you want to make sure it's developing well.

InkyP

What's wrong with paper and pencils?

Nothing at all (: in fact we have many-different colours, types, sizes, the usual 'writing area' set up...just on the hunt for some exciting creative ideas that can be done on a shoe-string. thank's for your great ideas (:

Msz

but in reception they need to use pen/pencil and paper and sometimes reluctant boys have to do things they don't automatically choose.

I completely agree, and of course we have our writing books and have regular small groups for writing-with good old pencils and paper, plus many, many other activities and routines that encourage writing for a purpose and also not just for those who 'choose' to do it. My intention is not to start a thread that disputes pencil and paper writing and whether or not children 'should or should not' be doing this, but merely to get a few more creative ideas. thank you to the people who have shared some ideas for resources and activities.

 I think you need to be clear whether you want exciting mark making activities or you want to encourage reluctant boys to engage in writing (emergent or more structured) because however exciting the mark making is it is not going to make boys want to write only to make marks, which is fine in itself as it develops lots of skills.

Hi some ideas I use in my room are;

Taping down wall paper and giving a selection of mark making tools- they love this as they feel there writing on the table.

Clip boards everywhere especially in the construction area as they make plans for their models.

Coloured sand in shallow trays to use paint brushes/fingers etc.

Magnifying glasses outside to hunt for words and write them.

Home corner- shopping lists, copying out of catalogues, telephone numbers from the phone book etc.

We put crates tyers and police fancy dress costumes outside and they loved writing the names of who they caught and writing a sign for their police station.

and lots of other random bits and pieces that work with our daily routines in Rec.

 

Msz

 I think you need to be clear whether you want exciting mark making activities or you want to encourage reluctant boys to engage in writing (emergent or more structured) because however exciting the mark making is it is not going to make boys want to write only to make marks, which is fine in itself as it develops lots of skills.

my first thread on TES forums...better check my wording next time! just looking for some ideas while I do my planning, not interested in a debate. cheers for your advice on what you think i need to do!

Had you said that was what you wanted I would have posted ideas for mark making unfortunately they won't encourage relucatant boys to want to write!

koru

not interested in a debate

 

Come on, Koru - the debate is needed and one day you'll join in with alacrity.

 Why are you not interested in debate? Should we not be quetioning our practice?

I know that all cohorts are different, but I have one this year where the boys are not reluctant to read or write. Clearly part of this is just the way they are. However, things I have done are ... teach PGCs very quickly so that they had a grapheme for each sound well before Christmas. They have been encouraged since then to write any word that they need - however long or complicated. Rewards for writing big words. We've done handwriting nearly every day as a coming into school activity. They have been trained to use grapheme cards to support their writing. CI writing is remarked on and rewarded. I've changed the reading books so they see the link between reading and phonics. Early on, I also noticed that one of the popular boys was keen on colouring. So we provided colouring resources which all his friends joined in with. This has made the writing area a popular one and they now come to it to make their own books etc. Now, there are still some children who would sooner fly to the moon than spend CI time writing, but I think the overall feeling towards writing is a positive one.

 I'm so pleased we aren't alone in having enthusiastic boys when it comes to reading and writing.

CI ideas - whiteboard + whiteboard markers. Little booklets made from 'scrap' paper (we use computer paper). Rainbow pencils ENVELOPES - oh how the boys LOVE envelopes and think they are so important using one and posting into the mailbox. Chalk and chalkboards outside - keep a score of, say, skittles. How many did you knock over? Old computer screen -they write on it with markers/oil pastels.

CI ideas - whiteboard + whiteboard markers. Little booklets made from 'scrap' paper (we use computer paper). Rainbow pencils ENVELOPES - oh how the boys LOVE envelopes and think they are so important using one and posting into the mailbox. Chalk and chalkboards outside - keep a score of, say, skittles. How many did you knock over? Old computer screen -they write on it with markers/oil pastels. Also whenever they build a model: get them to write a label that says "PLease leave my model. Thank you"

  "Driving" the toy cars through paint then driving them around the paper.  ~or wheeled vehicles outdoors

Sponge pan scourers in paint. or large sponge floor mops

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

Painting with decorators brushes

 

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

feathers in paint

toothbrushes

roll tyres/balls through paint

 

sticks and mud

 

washing up liquid bottles with water or watery paint

 

plant sprays and paint