Targeted Information and Resources

Ideas to develop your baby or child’s communication skills. Find strategies, activities and resources that will help your child develop understanding, talking or communication skills. The resources and activities might be things you choose to do yourself at home. They might also include more particular activities advised by a practitioner or activities and programmes that your child’s school or setting might use. You may find more specific activities that can be advised or delivered by a speech and language therapist.

What follows is organised according to the Balanced System Five Strands and Three Levels because that is the framework that is underpinning service delivery across the system in Torbay and here are our Torbay resources.

What is The Balanced System®?

The Balanced System® framework is a way of making sure that in a setting, school or local area, the right provisions are available for parents, carers and professionals to help children and young people develop their speech, language and communication.

The framework is organised in five strands or themes and across three levels. All of these are important to get the whole system working at its best.  If a local area is working well then as a parent or carer you should be able to find out what you need to know to answer your questions and where to go for more information.

I know what to do to help my baby or child’s communication development.

I know what particular activities help my baby or child’s early communication development

I know what specialist activities help my baby or child’s early communication

On these pages you will find information, advice and support to help your child’s communication which is listed under universal, targeted or specialist and ideas to do at home, your child’s progress, services, activities you can do and general information and websites you can go to. Click on one of the universal, targeted or specialist signposts or one of the green buttons below to find out more.

What follows is organised according to the Balanced System Five Strands and Three Levels because that is the framework that is underpinning service delivery across the system in Torbay and here are our Torbay resources.

What is The Balanced System®?

The Balanced System® framework is a way of making sure that in a setting, school or local area, the right provisions are available for parents, carers and professionals to help children and young people develop their speech, language and communication.

The framework is organised in five strands or themes and across three levels. All of these are important to get the whole system working at its best.  If a local area is working well then as a parent or carer you should be able to find out what you need to know to answer your questions and where to go for more information.

Makaton is a unique language programme that uses symbols, signs and speech to enable people to communicate. It supports the development of essential communication skills such as attention and listening, comprehension, memory, recall and organisation of language and expression. Find out more about Makaton here.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/joinin/something-special-what-is-makaton

Speech and Language UK have help for families to give them the confidence and skills to help their children. If you’re concerned about your child’s speech and language development, they can help.

Find out more about -information about ages and stages, resources for parents and a progress tracker. 

• Resources for parents, downloads provide information and advice to help you help your child learn to talk and support any speech, language and communication needs
• Useful information and a progress tracker that can support discussions with parents in relation to their child’s development.  Progress tracker  

Children and Family Health Devon have a number of toolkits (concentrating & listening, play, understanding words, using words and sentences, sensory processing, sounds and speech, social and emotional development, stammering) to help support you and your child.

They also offer regular virtual drop in sessions for parents of 0 – 3 year olds and professionals. Find out more here.

Children and Family Health Devon advice and guidance on development Early Years Toolkit – expected development and how to help (birth- 4 yrs)

Children and Family Health Devon advice and guidance on development
Early Years Toolkit – expected development and how to help (birth- 4 yrs)

Children and Family Health Devon Facebook page Visit Site

Children and Family Health Devon videos for parents/carers/professionals –

• what is communication and how to support your child
• Ways to support communication and provide opportunities to communicate
• How to adapt your language to help your child understand
• How to use visuals to support understanding

We want to help every parent or carer in Torbay to find the right support at the right time. Support isn’t just for the tough times. It’s there to help make your whole parenting experience easier and more enjoyable.

Where you can get support

The Outreach Worker supports children with developmental delays by providing strategies during home visits focused on chatting, playing, and reading for four weeks.

Please email the team for a referral form.

Download our leaflet for information on the services and support available in Torbay for infant feeding, your mental health and wellbeing and early communication.

If you have just moved to Torbay, view or download our transfer in booklet full of information and advice to support your child or children’s health.

What is Portage?
Portage is a home teaching service for families with pre-school children who have Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND). The success and popularity of Portage is based on the premise that it promotes parents/carers as the key figures in the development of their child.

Portage aims to enable parents/carers to become effective teachers of their own children using evidence based interventions and teaching strategies. All Portage Home Visitors (PHV) are key workers, co-ordinating family-focused services.

The Torbay Portage Service is a registered service with the National Portage Association (NPA).  The team consists of 4 practitioners, a Team Lead and 3 home visitors.  All Portage Home Visitors are qualified in special educational needs and have undertaken specific Portage training associated with the NPA.

Portage is a home visiting service for pre-school children with special educational needs and their families. We offer a framework of support which includes regular home visits by a Portage Home Visitor, care-coordination with all others involved with the child and family and signposting to local and national support and information.

Home visits may include face to face visits, virtual communication such as Zoom or telephone calls.  All interaction will aim to cover the following:

• A holistic assessment of the child’s development using Early Years assessment tools, child observation, parent views and current health assessments
• Identification of parental key priorities in terms of their child’s learning and/or any care-coordination or signposting needs
• Modelling of play activities and strategies with parents to support their key priorities in their child’s learning and development

Portage Home Visitors will also liaise with the child’s current Early Years setting to establish shared Individual Learning and Development Plan targets using a small steps approach.

To be eligible for this service, you must live in Torbay and have a child with significant additional needs or a disability.  Referral to the service can be made by using the service referral form on Portage – Torbay Council

How will Portage Home Visitors work with me?
The PHV arranges to visit the parent/carer and the child at home on a regular basis. At first the PHV works closely with the parent/carer assessing the child’s strengths and needs and the priorities of the family.

Time will be spent getting to know the child, what interests them and how best they learn new skills.

The PHV will liaise with other people involved with the child and prepare a shared plan of support. The plan will be broken down into small steps with an appropriate set of activities. These will include the child’s known interests to ensure the teaching and learning is fun and enjoyable. The staff at the child’s early years provision will be included in practising the activities in the plan.

The support plan is reviewed regularly together.

Your PHV can be your first point of contact when you do not know who else to get in touch with. They will keep in regular contact and offer support through home visits and/or telephone/video calls.

Telephone:   01803 208579

Email:   portageteam@torbay.gov.uk

Torbay Portage Service | Facebook

Talk to your Early Years Setting or Health Visitor at the

• 2 – 3 year Early Years Progress check
• 2 – 2.3 year Health Visiting developmental review. call the 0 to 19 Torbay advice line on 0300 333 5352 (Monday – Friday 9am to 5pm) or Email: publichealthnursing.torbay@nhs.net

Or you can talk to one of the early years team at any of our family hubs. Click here to find out about the support available in Torbay

1.9 million children currently struggle with talking and understanding words. Speech and Language UK’s progress checker is based on what they know about how babies and children develop skills. Choose the age of the child and then answer the questions. At the end, they will direct you to some helpful advice and resources.

I CAN’s Talking Point gives parents/carers and practitioners the information they need to help children develop their speech, language and communication skills. If a child has difficulty with speaking, they may need help, or they may struggle in nursery or school. With the right help, they can develop the skills they need. 

Information on what to typically expect, top tips and things you can do to encourage your baby, toddler of child’s communication.

Conception to birth

Talking to your bump

Bonding can begin before birth. Babies’ brains develop very quickly during pregnancy – they can hear and feel things too. Did you know that babies’ hearing starts developing from about sixteen weeks into pregnancy? By 6 months of pregnancy, your baby can hear music and voices, recognise familiar voices, learn and remember

Babies recognise voices and can start to respond even while they’re still in the womb. Feeling your baby move and kick in response to your voice and your touch makes those early conversations really rewarding and making a connection with your baby helps you feel very close to them even before they are born.

• Bump chats TOP TIPS
• • Find regular quiet times when you can talk and sing to your baby
• • Try ‘turn taking’: when you feel them kick, rub that spot. Wait for another kick and respond again
• • Babies hear their mother’s heartbeat all the time, day and night. Try gently tapping or making a sound along with it
• • Encourage partners, grandparents and any older siblings to get involved too
• • You may notice your baby relaxes at the sound of familiar voices, and becomes calmer and quieter when you are talking to them. Notice how your baby responds
• • If you’re not sure what to say, try reading a baby book aloud or sing nursery rhymes or talk about everyday things, your baby will just enjoy the sound of your voice
• • Gently rocking and moving to music is a good way for your baby to develop good physical, movement skills and balance even before birth.

From birth to 6 months

Remember, not all children develop at the same rate but during this time I will:

• make sounds, like cooing, gurgling and babbling, to myself and with other people
• make noises to get your attention
• watch your face when you talk to them
• get excited when I hear voices coming, showing excitement by kicking or waving my arms or making noises
• smile and laugh when other people smile and laugh
• make sounds back when talked to.

My parents might want to speak to a Health Visitor or GP if:

• I struggle to keep my milk down.
• I’m not startled by loud noises.
• I don’t use my eyes to watch you when you talk to me.
• I don’t ever smile back when someone is communicating and smiling at me.
• I don’t show interest in my parent’s face when talking to them.

See it in action, just click on this link.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/tiny-happy-people/speech-lab-peekaboo/zqntxbk

By 12 months

Remember, not all children develop at the same rate but during this time I will:

• make talking noises – babble strings of sounds, like ‘ma-ma-ma’, ‘ba-ba-ba’
• make noises, point to things and look at you to get your attention
• start to say sounds that will become my first words and use gestures
• start to understand words like ‘bye-bye’ and ‘up’ especially when a gesture is used at the same time
• recognise the names of familiar objects, things like ‘cup’ and ‘bowl’, ‘teddy’ and ‘mummy’
• look at you when you speak or when I hear my name called
• take turns in ‘conversations’, babbling back to an adult

My parents might want to speak to a Health Visitor or GP if:

• I’m not doing some of the things a younger child would (see previous age boxes)
• I have not made any babbling or other sounds by 6 months
• I don’t point by 12 months I don’t try to get your attention (this might be by making noises, eye contact, facial expressions, reaching, throwing toys from my buggy or highchair)

BBC Tiny Happy people have some great advice and tools for talking here.

By 18 months

Remember, not all children develop at the same rate but during this time I will:

• begin talking! I will be able to say around 20 words. These are usually things I hear a lot at home or in my early years setting – such as ‘milk’, ‘doggy’, ‘hurrah’, ‘bye-bye’, ‘more’, ‘no’
• say words in a baby way, but the words usually sound the same each time I say them
• understand some simple words and short phrases. These are usually things I hear a lot during the day, such as ‘coat on’, ‘drink’, ‘shoes’, ‘bus’, ‘in your buggy’, ‘dinner time’, ‘all gone’
• recognise and point to familiar objects when you ask me
• enjoy games like ‘peek-a-boo’ and ‘patacake’ and toys that make a noise – I still like the comfort of a familiar adult nearby
• be exploring my world and starting to enjoy simple pretend play, like pretending to talk on the phone

My parents might want to speak to a Health Visitor or GP if:

• • I’m not doing some of the things a younger child would (see previous age boxes)
• • I don’t show enjoyment of being with a familiar adult
• • I don’t look towards familiar people or objects when their names are said
• • I don’t bring objects to an adult to show or to share.
• • I don’t follow simple instructions.
• • I don’t look for or go to a familiar adult for comfort when I am scared, upset or hurt.
• • I don’t try to show you things by pointing at them and looking back at you.
• • I don’t use gestures like nodding or shaking my head, waving, putting my hands out in a ‘where’s it gone?’ gesture.

To contact the 0 to 19 Torbay health visiting team, please call us on 0300 333 5352 (Monday – Friday 9am to 5pm) or email: publichealthnursing.torbay@nhs.net

By 2 years

Remember, not all children develop at the same rate but during this time I will:

• • use over 50 single words like ‘juice’, ‘car’, ‘biscuit’
• • be starting to put short sentences together with two to three words, such as “more juice” or “bye-bye daddy”
• • be asking simple questions such as “what that?”, “who that?”. They might do this quite a lot!
• • understand between 200 and 500 words
• • understand simple questions and instructions like “where’s baby”, “go and get your coat”, “mummy’s turn”
• • enjoy pretend play with their toys, such as feeding dolly or pretending to drive a car, usually making noises and talking while playing
• • become very frustrated when they cannot get their message across. This is one reason for toddler tantrums

My parents might want to speak to a Health Visitor or GP if:

• • I’m not doing some of the things a younger child would (see previous age boxes)
• • I don’t play with objects by pretending? – e.g. give teddy a drink; using a box as a doll’s bed; pretend talk on the phone

To contact the 0 to 19 Torbay health visiting team, please call us on 0300 333 5352 (Monday – Friday 9am to 5pm) or email: publichealthnursing.torbay@nhs.net

By 3 years

Remember, not all children develop at the same rate but during this time I will:

• • use up to 300 words and use different types of words to do different things; to describe what things look like (‘big’, ‘soft’) where they are (‘under’, ‘on’) what they are for (‘eating’, ‘playing’) and to describe how many (‘lots’)
• • refer to something that has happened in the past
• • put 4 or 5 words together to make short sentences, such as “me want more juice”, “him want his coat”
• • ask lots of questions
• • have clearer speech, although I will still have some things I don’t get quite right. I might say things like ‘pider’ instead of ‘spider’. However, people who know me can mostly understand me
• • listen to and remember simple stories with pictures
• • understand longer instructions, such as “put on your coat and get your bag” or “where’s mummy’s coat?”
• • understand simple ‘who’, ‘what’ and ‘where’ questions
• • play more with other children and join in with play
• • play more complex imaginative games
• • be able to have a proper conversation, though I may flit around the topic a bit and be difficult to follow at times
• • be able to recognise how other people feel and will try to do something about it (e.g. “Ah, Josie sad. She need a hug.”)

My parents might want to speak to a Health Visitor or GP if:

• • I’m not doing some of the things a younger child would (see previous age boxes)
• • I don’t regularly use words to express myself
• • I don’t follow simple, everyday instructions
• • I can’t settle and play with activity that I choose myself even for a very short time
• • I don’t show any response when somebody talks to me
• • I don’t show any interest in communicating
• • I am not using sentences with 2 words
• • I seem to have stopped making progress with my talking
• • I use gesture to get what I want rather than using the words
• • My parents can’t understand what I say
• • I rely on being shown what to do rather than on understanding the words people say.

To contact the 0 to 19 Torbay health visiting team, please call us on 0300 333 5352 (Monday – Friday 9am to 5pm) or email: publichealthnursing.torbay@nhs.net

By 4 years

Remember, not all children develop at the same rate but during this time I will:

• • ask lots of questions using words like ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘why’
• • be able to answer questions about ‘why’ something has happened
• • use longer sentences and link sentences together, E.g. “I had pizza for tea and then I played in the garden”
• • describe events that have already happened, E.g. “We got dressed up and we went to the hall and singed songs. All the mummies and daddies did watch”
• • have mostly clear speech, though will continue to have difficulties with a small number of sounds – for example ‘r’ – as in ‘rabbit’, ‘l’ – as in ‘letter’, ‘th’ as in ‘thumb’, ‘sh’ as in ‘show’, and ‘j’ as in ‘jam’
• • listen to longer stories and answer questions about a story they have just heard, for example, simple questions such as “Who did Cinderella dance with at the ball?”, “Were Cinderella’s sisters kind?”
• • understand and often use colour, number and time related words, for example, ‘red’ car, ‘three’ fingers
• • enjoy make-believe play
• • start to like simple jokes – though often their own jokes make little sense
• • start to be able to plan games with others

My parents might want to speak to a Health Visitor or GP if:

• • I’m not doing some of the things a younger child would (see previous age boxes)
• • I don’t use sentences with 3 words or more
• • I don’t understand simple commands
• • Close relatives can’t understand me most of the time
• • I struggle to turn ideas into sentences
• • My words are often jumbled, and my ideas are difficult to follow

To contact the 0 to 19 Torbay health visiting team, please call us on 0300 333 5352 (Monday – Friday 9am to 5pm) or email: publichealthnursing.torbay@nhs.net

By 5 years

Remember, not all children develop at the same rate but during this time I will:

• • take turns in much longer conversations
• • use sentences that are well formed, for example, “I had spaghetti for tea at Jamilia’s house”
• • be learning more words all the time as well as thinking more about the meanings of words, such as describing the meaning of simple words or asking what a new word means
• • be able to re-tell short stories I have heard in roughly the right order and use language that makes it sound like a story
• • use most speech sounds. However, I may have some difficulties with more difficult words such as ‘scribble’ or ‘elephant’ and some speech sounds such as ‘r’ and ‘th’ may still be difficult
• • enjoy listening to stories, songs and rhymes and will start to make up my own
• • ask relevant questions or make relevant comments in relation to what I’ve have heard
• • understand spoken instructions without stopping what I’m doing to look at who is speaking to me
• • understand more complicated language such as ‘first’, ‘last’, ‘might’, ‘maybe’, ‘above’ and ‘in between’
• • understand words that describe sequences such as “first we are going to the shop, next we will play in the park”
• • choose my own friends
• • use talk to take on different roles in imaginative play, to interact and negotiate with people and to have longer conversations
• • use talk to help work out problems to organise my thinking and take part in activities

My parents might want to speak to a Health Visitor or GP if:

• • I’m not doing some of the things a younger child would (see previous age boxes)
• • I don’t use sentences with 3 words or more
• • I don’t understand simple commands
• • Close relatives can’t understand me most of the time
• • I struggle to turn ideas into sentences
• • My words are often jumbled, and my ideas are difficult to follow
• • I have poor understanding of spoken language.
• • Strangers cannot understand much of my speech.
• • I have difficulty with abstract ideas such as size or time.
• • I cannot identify the words to be able to say what I want.
• • I struggle to organise my words into an order when I talk, e.g. I might miss connecting and describing words – I might say ‘playing ball’ instead of ‘Jake is playing with the ball’.

Talk to your school nurse, GP, school/setting practitioner

CFHD All age Advice line 0333 321 9448 (Mon-Fri 2pm-4.30pm

A program for 3-4 year old children in nurseries improves language and communication skills by 6 months on average in 9 weeks with parental involvement through shared books. Most importantly, the programme helps to boost their language skills to narrow the gap between them and their peers. The programme aims to accelerate children’s progress in language and communication by an average of 5 months after 9 weeks.

Ask your setting for further information.

My name is Kate Smith and I am the Home Learning Environment Outreach Development Worker for Torbay and I have lots of advice around learning and development and how to use simple strategies in the home environment or when out and about to support your child.

I am also the Chat, Play, Read Coordinator and hold fun and interactive sessions in the library for parents to support their child’s development. Find out when our sessions are running here, just search for Chat, Play, Read.

Also, I am an Accredited Peep Practitioner which is a programme for parents and children to attend together to learn how play, routines and much more can help to support your child’s learning and development.

Contact details: kate.smith@torbay.gov.uk

An interactive play based 1:1 session that will provide families with ideas and techniques to support children’s speech and language development within the home and out and about.

For ages 12 months plus. Here’s our leaflet with more information.

Who to contact

Telephone : 01803 210200
E-mail : familyhub@torbay.gov.uk
Website : Torbay Family Hub
Notes : Social Media just search 0to19Torbay

Where to go

Name : The Beehive Children’s Centre
Address : Paignton enterprise Centre
Bishops Place
Paignton
DEVON
Postcode : TQ3 3DZ

Time / Date Details

Weekly time slots available across all hubs. Call and speak to one of our support workers to find out more.

Other Details

Costs

Details : Free

Supporting children’s learning through play by providing activities for parents, carers, and practitioners to engage in during weekly sessions and at home. Watch this video to find out more.

Peep groups are for parents and carers and their young children – some are for babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers (3-5) or young school-age children, while others are for mixed age children. 

In Peep groups, practitioners and families share ideas and simple, low-cost activities that support your child’s learning in everyday life – talking, singing, sharing books and playing together. They’re also a great way to get to know other families.

Talk to your health visitor, early years setting or childminder about joining a group.

Eight one-hour weekly sessions aim to enhance communication skills in two-year-olds by involving parents and caregivers to promote language development based on research findings. Ask your setting for further information. Each session lasts for one hour.

Tots Talking is an interactive programme and the weekly sessions are run by staff working in nurseries and early years settings who have completed Tots Talking training with one of Speech and Language UK’s Licensed Tutors.

Children and Family Health Devon have a number of toolkits (concentrating & listening, play, understanding words, using words and sentences, sensory processing, sounds and speech, social and emotional development, stammering) to help support you and your child.

They also offer regular virtual drop in sessions for parents of 0 – 3 year olds and professionals. Find out more here.

Children and Family Health Devon advice and guidance on development Early Years Toolkit – expected development and how to help (birth- 4 yrs)

Children and Family Health Devon advice and guidance on development
Early Years Toolkit – expected development and how to help (birth- 4 yrs)

Children and Family Health Devon Facebook page Visit Site

Children and Family Health Devon videos for parents/carers/professionals –

• what is communication and how to support your child
• Ways to support communication and provide opportunities to communicate
• How to adapt your language to help your child understand
• How to use visuals to support understanding

We often hear the term home learning environment, but what do we mean by it?

This is learning environment your child experiences at home with their family. ALL parents are educators of their children, and anyone can do it. It does not require you to be ‘the teacher’ or buy lots of resources. It requires your time and imagination and having lots of fun!

Parents are a child’s first and most enduring educators. Parents and families are the most important people in children’s lives. They have the greatest influence over them, particularly in their early years.

What you do at home as parents has a major impact on social, emotional and intellectual development.

Parents who engage in meaningful activities that encourage thinking and talking to stretch a child’s mind as part of everyday life can enhance their child’s development significantly.

Evidence shows that the below activities have the biggest impact on your child’s learning:

• Reading with and to children, and going to the library
• Singing songs and rhymes
• Going out and about on visits
• Drawing and painting
• Playing with friends
• Playing with letters and numbers

The following activities are important too:

• Listening, talking and thinking – using a family’s strongest language(s) from birth
• Doing real things together, for example: cooking, gardening, helping with the shopping
• Letting the children have a go for themselves
• Imagining and pretending

Suggestions for how to make your home a place that helps with understanding, talking and communication. Click on the drop downs below for activities you can do at home.

Bookstart aims to encourage a love of books, stories and rhymes in children from as young an age as possible. Whether you’re a family wanting to find out what Bookstart can offer you, or an early years partner involved in delivering Bookstart, you’ll find all the information you need right here.

Looking for some inspiration for your Bookstart pack? Watch these video’s to find out what other families are doing with their packs.

Introducing our delightful collection of play packs designed to bring joy, creativity, and learning right into your home! We have five exciting play packs: Mark Making, Music Bag, Singing Bag, Sensory Bag, and Peekaboo. Each pack is thoughtfully curated to provide endless fun and developmental benefits for your little ones.

Mark Making: Unleash your child’s inner artist with our Mark Making pack! Filled with colorful crayons, markers, and paper, this pack encourages children to explore their creativity and develop fine motor skills. Watch as they create their own masterpieces and express themselves through art.

Music Bag: Get ready to make some noise with the Music Bag! This pack includes a variety of musical instruments like tambourines, maracas, and bells. It’s perfect for introducing your child to the world of music, rhythm, and sound. Let the musical adventures begin as you create your own family band!

Singing Bag: Sing your heart out with the Singing Bag! Packed with songbooks, CDs, and fun props, this pack is designed to make singing a joyful and interactive experience. Whether it’s a classic nursery rhyme or a new favorite tune, singing together helps build language skills and strengthens the bond between you and your child.

Sensory Bag: Dive into a world of sensory exploration with the Sensory Bag! This pack is filled with items that stimulate the senses, such as textured balls, scented playdough, and colorful scarves. Sensory play is crucial for developing cognitive and motor skills, and it’s a fantastic way for children to learn about the world around them.

Peekaboo: Experience the magic of discovery with the Peekaboo pack! This pack includes soft toys, mirrors, and peekaboo books that encourage interactive play and surprise. Peekaboo games are not only fun but also help with social and emotional development, teaching children about object permanence and trust.

These play packs are left with families between visits from our Home Learning Environment workers to ensure you have all the resources needed to continue the learning and fun at home. Each pack is designed to support the strategies put in place by our dedicated team, making it easy for you to engage with your child and foster their development in a playful and meaningful way.

Find out why mark making is so important and discover our top tips for supporting this in the early years.

Making scribbles with pens, creating hand prints with paint and drawing patterns in the sand, aka mark making, are all signs you’ll see on the lead up to writing in the early years.

Did you know?

• You can use a paint brush and water to make marks outside.

• You can use a stick to create marks in the sand at the beach.

• You can press objects into playdough to make marks too.

Mark making is the beginning of a child’s journey to writing and is an important step in a child’s development. It also helps with fine and gross motor skills.

What is mark making?

If you work in early childhood education, you’ve likely heard the term “mark making” quite often. But what exactly does it mean, and how does it benefit children’s development?

Mark making encompasses all the scribbles and patterns that children naturally create. Whether it’s drawing patterns in the sand with their fingers, scribbling on paper with a crayon, dipping their fingers in spilled food, or drawing lines in the mud with a stick, these activities are the beginnings of mark making. Children do this almost instinctively, without needing any instruction.

When babies and toddlers start making marks intentionally using their bodies or various tools, they are taking their first steps towards writing and drawing. No matter how children mark make, this is a very important step in both physical development and cognitive development and should be encouraged whenever you spot it!

How does mark making encourage writing?

When children create marks through art or by drawing patterns, they are using essential physical development tools needed for writing. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t encourage mark making in other ways. In fact, engaging in mark making on a larger scale outdoors is particularly beneficial as it promotes ‘whole arm’ movements. These movements help build the foundation of muscle control necessary for holding a pencil correctly.

The benefits of mark making include:

When children create marks through art or by drawing patterns, they are using essential physical development tools needed for writing. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t encourage mark making in other ways. In fact, engaging in mark making on a larger scale outdoors is particularly beneficial as it promotes ‘whole arm’ movements. These movements help build the foundation of muscle control necessary for holding a pencil correctly.

Physical Development
As children experiment with making marks, they learn to use their bodies in various ways. This promotes fine and gross motor skills, different grips, and body control, all of which are essential for writing.

Expressive Arts & Design
Mark making and drawing lines or patterns that represent something else allow children to express themselves creatively. It provides a new way for them to convey their feelings more permanently, rather than through sounds and movement. This activity sparks their imagination and helps them share their thoughts through pictures and stories.

Mathematics
Mark making can lay the foundation for understanding numbers and shapes, leading to the development of mathematical skills.

While some children may already know how to write numbers or form simple words, it’s important to encourage them without rushing through this stage, as children progress at different rates.

Tips for Encouraging Mark Making at Home

Supporting mark making at home can be both fun and beneficial for your child’s development. Here are some practical tips for parents:

• Provide a Variety of Materials: Offer different tools like crayons, markers, chalk, paint, and even sticks for outdoor drawing. Having a range of materials can make mark making more exciting.

• Create a Dedicated Space: Set up a specific area for mark making, whether it’s a small table indoors or a spot in the garden. This helps children associate the space with creativity.

• Encourage Outdoor Activities: Use chalk on the pavement, draw in the sand, or make patterns in the mud. Outdoor mark making allows for larger movements and can be very engaging.

• Incorporate Everyday Activities: Encourage mark making during daily routines, like drawing shapes in spilled flour while baking or using a finger to draw in condensation on windows.

• Celebrate Their Work: Display your child’s creations around the house. This boosts their confidence and shows that you value their efforts.

• Join In: Participate in mark making activities with your child. This not only makes it more enjoyable but also provides an opportunity for bonding.

• Encourage Experimentation: Let your child experiment with different grips and movements. This helps develop their fine and gross motor skills.

• Use Technology Wisely: Digital drawing apps can also be a fun way for children to engage in mark making, but balance screen time with physical activities.

• Read and Draw Together: Combine storytelling with drawing. Ask your child to draw scenes from their favourite stories or create their own illustrations.

• Be Patient and Positive: Every child progresses at their own pace. Encourage their efforts and celebrate their progress without rushing them.

By incorporating these tips, you can create a supportive environment that nurtures your child’s mark making and overall development.

Indoor Activities

Mark making on 3D objects uses different muscles than making marks on a flat piece of paper, strengthening muscles in fingers, hands, arms and shoulders.

Marks can also be made in materials such as dry sand, flour, glitter etc using use a finger. If in individual trays, children can make their marks then when finished, give the tray a shake and you have a blank canvas ready for more marks to be made.

• Finger Painting: Use washable paints and let your child create patterns and pictures with their fingers.

• Chalkboard or Whiteboard: Provide chalk or dry-erase markers for drawing and writing. Chalk is chunky and easy for little hands to hold to draw and doesn’t require much pressure for a mark to be made.

• Scribble Station: Set up a table with paper, crayons, markers, and coloured pencils for free drawing.

• Playdough Patterns: Roll out playdough and use tools or fingers to make marks and shapes.

• Water Painting: Use a brush and water to paint on a chalkboard or a piece of dark construction paper.

• Sand Tray: Fill a tray with sand or rice and let your child draw patterns with their fingers or small tools.

• Stickers and Stamps: Use stickers and stamps to create pictures and patterns on paper.

• Drawing in Flour: Spread flour on a baking tray and let your child draw with their fingers.

Outdoor Activities

• Pavement Chalk: Draw on the pavement with colourful chalk.

• Mud Painting: Use sticks or fingers to draw in the mud.

• Nature Brushes: Create brushes from leaves, twigs, and flowers, and use them to paint with water or mud.

• Water Play: Use a paintbrush and water to draw on the pavement or fence.

• Sand Art: Draw patterns in a sandbox or at the beach.

• Leaf Rubbings: Place paper over leaves and rub with crayons to create leaf patterns.

• Garden Drawing: Use sticks to draw in the soil or sand in the garden.

Creative Activities

• Story Drawing: Read a story and ask your child to draw scenes from it.

• Shape Tracing: Provide stencils or objects to trace around.

• Collage Making: Use different materials like paper, fabric, and natural items to create a collage.

• Bubble Wrap Painting: Paint on bubble wrap and press paper onto it to create textured prints.

• Shadow Drawing: Place objects in the sunlight and trace their shadows on paper.

These activities not only support mark making but also encourage creativity, fine motor skills, and imaginative play. Enjoy creating and exploring with your child!

More ideas

Take a look at our social media posts on Facebook and Instagram for more ideas like the ones below.

Click here for links to a few Peep tips and activity ideas for things to do at home. They’re all free or low-cost, and easy to fit into day-to-day life, and they’ll all help your baby’s or child’s learning.

Babies and toddlers are constantly developing and a big part of how they learn is through their senses. It
is great to give them opportunities to explore through stimulating, sensory play.

Before children use and understand language, they make sense of the world around them using their senses. First they want to find out what objects are like. To do this, babies use their senses to mouth objects to help them discover more.

As a baby becomes more mobile, they become keen to explore how they can make an object interact with the environment and so explore what they can do with it to an ever greater extent. Then they want to find out what the object can become. As their language develops, they use their imaginations to find a functional use for the object.

Sensory play is a vital part of early childhood development, allowing children to make sense of the world around them through their senses. By engaging children in sensory activities, children develop language skills, problem solving abilities, fine and gross motor skills and cognitive growth. Find out more about sensory play and why it is great for your child’s development here.

Did you know?

Sensory experiences build nerve connections within the developing brain’s neural pathways. You can find out more about brain development here.

You can help stimulate the senses in the following ways

• Smell – scented playdough, oranges, herbs added to water.
• Sight – Mirrors, bold contrasting colours (black & white for babies), bubbles.
• Taste – jelly, cooked spaghetti, cooking together.
• Hearing – Foil blanket, shakers and bells, saucepans and wooden spoons.
• Touch – Wood, metal, ice, shells, fir cones, pebbles.
• Vestibular (sense of balance) Action songs, rolling, jumping, crawling, hanging upside down.
• Proprioception (awareness of position and movement of the body – Pushing and pulling objects, cardboard boxes, riding trikes/bikes.

Here’s some ideas you can try at home.

Playdough

This super-easy playdough recipe is the perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon inside. It’s quick enough to hold a young child’s attention and you only need a few store cupboard ingredients.

Little hands can play with the results straightaway, so there’s immediate fun for all involved!

Playdough microwaveDownload

Lots more information and ideas from BBC Tiny Happy people

Bubbles

Blowing bubbles can help to develop motor skills, visual skills and oral language.
Blowing long streams of bubbles strengthen a child’s core muscles and promote eye
contact.

If you’ve run out of store-bought bubble mixture or need a quick entertainment idea for the kids, it’s easy to make your own bubbles from washing-up liquid and water. But what’s the perfect ratio, and what can you use if you don’t have a bubble wand?

To make the bubble mixture

• 1 Dessertspoon of caster sugar
• 2 Dessertspoons of washing up liquid.
• 1 Cup of warm water

Mix it all together until dissolved and have fun.

Homemade bubble wands

If you don’t have a wand from a store-bought pot of bubbles, don’t despair! You can have fun by looking for different items around the house that can be used to make bubbles. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Paperclips – bend them into wands or use as they are
• Straws
• Biscuit cutters
• Pipe cleaners
• Fly swatters

View or download our bubble recipe here.

Ice play for babies

One of the best thing about activities with ice, is that they address all 5 senses. If a child has a sensory processing need or not, sensory play is a vital part of a child’s development. Ice makes an amazing sensory play material and it is practically free.  

Benefits: Toddlers and children process information through their senses. Sensory play is unstructured and is the purest sense of exploratory learning.

Adult supervision required at all times.

What you need:

• Ziplock bag
• Ice Food colour {optional)
• Lemon juice (optional)
• Towels

Fill the ziplock bag with ice and secure it. Encourage the child to explore.  

Tips: When the child is ready to explore more, you can start introducing the ice in a tray with plastic toys. You can also use lemon flavour to explore taste. Enjoy exploring with your baby!

This fun and beautifully illustrated activity pack is designed to help parents and carers support their children’s learning at home. The cards feature simple activities that promote communication development in toddlers aged 18 months to 3 years old.

Toddler Talk is the second pack in the Early Talkers series and includes 30 inspiring activities created by specialist practitioners with years of experience in early childhood communication. These activities are perfect for playing and developing your toddler’s communication skills.

Don’t forget to talk to your early years setting about using these cards!