What's on your mark-making table?

[Guest]

I am planning to develop the mark-making area at nursery. Until now it has been an 'inadequate' area of my nursery provision ; not through want of trying, but because without constant supervision (despite laying down 'rules' which the children helped to devise) it is always 'trashed' . It is not the most inspiring area but I have just bought some wooden pigeon holes which will sit at the back of the table and 2 wooden floor standing DVD storage racks which will stand either side of the table - all of which will be used to store mark-making implements, paper, envelopes etc. :1b I mean to start off well by labelling all the compartments which will help when tidying up . I have also moved the post box to the garden area as EVERYTHING was being posted in it - pens, pencils, rulers, diaries, puppets, books ... if the children could post it that's where it would be found!

I 'd appreciate any ideas for resourcing the mark-making table. So far I have:

Lead pencils, coloured pencils, crayons, rulers, paper, envelopes, diaries, post-it notes, highlighter pens and rubbers. I have 2 compartments left - any thoughts? :wub:

[mrsbat]

we also have clip boards, biro's and stencils

[laura]

I ask parents to bring in junk mail as the children love opening envelopes and writing on the leaflets/forms etc, also I ask for invites, thank you cards etc. we get loads brought in

[Fredbear]

Ink stampers and chalkboards/ chalks.

[Mouseketeer]

We have a couple of cheap mini etcha-sketch type things.

[Guest lillybeth]

perhaps to support the "mark making" table you could have little carriers in which you could put the mark making implements in so that children can take them to the areas that they need them. I have had that situation with a post box and we went with their schemas for this type of play and provided a variety of resources allowing children to post items

[Guest]

We have mark making boards around the hall with a pencil

Helps to encourage children who do not want to mark make at the said table.

 

Also does it matter what they post in the postbox, after all some thought and learning went into what they posted

 

Spend a week role modelling your mark making area, use of the area will get better

Edited February 22, 2014 by Suer

[Guest]

We have mark making boards around the hall with a pencil

Helps to encourage children who do not want to mark make at the said table.

 

Also does it matter what they post in the postbox, after all some thought and learning went into what they posted

 

Spend a week role modelling your mark making area, use of the area will get betterimage.jpgimage.jpg

Yes, we have mark-making opportunities in all areas too; I just wanted a 'special' place designated to mark-making.

No it certainly doesn't matter what they post, I understand that and yes, it WILL get better with the removal of the post box and improved 'space' to store the mark-making materials and equipment. Moving the post box to the garden makes much more sense too, as the children have to 'travel' to post there letter - just like we do!

[Fredbear]

We have our mark making tools in a trolley, for free choice.. This can then be moved around the room. As well as the tidy caddy's for indoor and outdoor use.

Lots of our children love to mark-make on the floor using rolls of lining paper stuck down with Sellotape.

[thumperrabbit]

We have mark making boards around the hall with a pencil
Helps to encourage children who do not want to mark make at the said table.

Also does it matter what they post in the postbox, after all some thought and learning went into what they posted

Spend a week role modelling your mark making area, use of the area will get betterimage.jpgimage.jpg

 

 

Suer, I love your trolleys perfect for us packaways - where did you get it from?

I know you can get cheap plastic trolleys but they aren't the most robust when it comes to being packed away everyday.

[Guest ChunkyMan]

I ask all my friends to 'collect' those free postcards from the cinema...the children love these

Cx

[Guest]

Thumperabbit the trolley is from community playthings, we have had it about 4 yrs and love it

It is sturdy and strong and gets moved in and out of tardis like cupboard daily. We don't move it around but it could easily be

 

We have everything on it from chalks to pens, paper to envelopes, buttons, cotton buds Sellotape rulers rubbers, hole punch glue and more besides

[narnia]

we also have this trolley, but use it with the clear drawers, so the children can see what's in them easily. It is worth every penny..............ours survived the flood ( sorry, deluge!) at our setting a couple of years ago, so i would heartily recommend it

[sjcree]

Just a thought - do you think that maybe the posting children woulld like a pigeon holes to put letters in?

[fimbo]

in our mark making area we have -

clipboards

whiteboards and markers

tracing paper

different types of paper

envelopes

postcards

chalk boards

lamintaed pencil control sheets / mazes etc ( ours love these !)

notebooks / diaries

old birthday cards

penny stamps

old forms from the post office ( dvla i think !)

different things to write with -pens, felt pens, pencils,crayons,chalk,pastels,charcoal

rulers

magnadoodle things

[Guest]

Yes you can have clear boxes, I'm just a sucker for a bit of wicker.

 

We paid about £400 for it

[Panders]

We have the same one as suer, we use it for our art area, and have a similar one for our mark-making area. Kent County Council were very good a few years back and gifted them to us! That was in the day when Kent had some money to burn - unfortunately not the case any longer.............

[sunnyday]

As above! :1b

[Harmony1985]

Our mark making area is a community playthings shelf unit that holds 6 clear drawers with a table next to it. I have plain paper, coloured paper and lined paper in the top row of drawers then clipboards with lined paper on, notebooks and sticky notes, and envelopes in the bottom row of drawers.

On the top, I have coloured pencils, lead pencils, ball point pens, chunky felt tip pens, chalk, metallic wax crayons and a little pot of stationary (rubbers, mini bulldog clips and paperclips).