Young children enjoy exploring a variety of

tactile materials and media with their hands

and fingers, beginning to experiment with the

feel, movement and direction of their marks.    

     Paint offers another material for experimentation,

     exploring movement and mixing colours. The

     important point is that a variety of media should

     be made available for children to explore, and

     that teachers and practitioners appreciate how

    important this is.  

These 3-year-old boys have discovered

that using an artefact such as a wheeled 

car, results in tracks of paint that are 

very different to those made with fingers

and hands.  

Finn (1 year, 8 months) was keen to make his

own marks on the outline of a road that an adult

had drawn. In the background a practitioner

sits, sensitively interacting and observing as Finn

explores his drawing with a pen.

Myles (3 years, 1 month) chose to use two,

fine-tipped pens, repeatedly making

numerous energetic circular scribble-marks,

and clearly enjoying his repetitive circular

motions with pens.