Nurturing Early Writing Skills: Mark-Making in Nursery

In Nursery (ages 3 to 4), writing begins with mark making, as outlined in the EYFS framework and supported by Birth to 5 Matters. Children learn that marks, drawings, and symbols carry meaning, which is the foundation for later writing.

Using our core text The Gigantic Turnip, children draw and label vegetables, represent characters, and begin to retell the story through pictures and marks. These are early writing behaviours where children connect ideas, language, and symbols.

In line with EYFS expectations, children are working towards giving meaning to their marks, representing ideas through drawing, beginning to use letters such as those in their name, and developing the physical skills needed for writing.

Writing is embedded across the environment through play. Children create signs, label models, draw maps, and record ideas in meaningful contexts.

Learning to write at this age is not about forming letters correctly on a worksheet. It is about building the understanding that writing is a tool for communication. By developing mark making, storytelling, and labelling through meaningful contexts, children are building the foundations needed for confident, purposeful writing in Reception and beyond.