Newhall Infant School
Drawing Club (Writing)
Learning Through Play 💭🖍️
“Children are magic. They live in a world that overspills with exploration, connections, dreams and imagination. They are trying to share this world with us all the time, because they want to step through the door that leads their joy and join them.”
— Greg Bottrill 🌟
At Newhall Infant and Nursery School, we have excitedly embarked on a journey to transform our approach to early writing 📝💫
Drawing Club, designed by Greg Bottrill, brings children into a world full of imagination, creativity and wonder 🌍✨. Here at Sunnyside, we have fully embraced this magical approach — and the joy it brings to our children is incredible! 😊💖
Through Drawing Club, we:
🌈 Open the door to a magical world of stories and tales
💬 Enrich children’s language and communication skills
✏️ Develop fine motor control for early writing
❤️ Share special, meaningful moments together
It truly is a wonderful starting point for a child’s literacy journey 📚✨
🌟 The 3Ms of Drawing Club 🌟
🗣️ Making Conversation
Learning to:
💬 Talk confidently
📖 Use new vocabulary
👂 Listen carefully
🤝 Share ideas and collaborate
💛 Respect and support one another
✏️ Mark Making
Children begin to:
📝 Build confidence in writing
📚 Read with interest
🔤 Develop phonics skills
💌 Discover the joy of messaging
🖐️ Strengthen fine motor skills with purpose
🔢 Mathematics
Drawing is full of maths magic! ✨
Children explore:
🔢 Counting and number recognition
⚖️ Comparing and measuring
➕ Adding and subtracting
➗ Sharing and grouping
All while building confidence through meaningful play 💡
🌈 Our Creative Approaches
🍞 Story Dough
✨ Joy is at the heart of Story Dough!
Children use dough to:
🖐️ Strengthen hand muscles
🎨 Explore imagination
💛 Build connections with others
It’s all about:
🌟 Curiosity
🌟 Creativity (no cutters or set shapes!)
🌟 Celebrating children’s unique ideas
🖍️ Scribble It
A world of shared adventure and wonder 🌍✨
Children and adults explore together through:
1️⃣ Invention 💡
2️⃣ Magic Spells ✨
3️⃣ Story 📖
Scribbles become powerful, magical tools of expression 🪄
💌 The Message Centre
Children need to feel:
😊 Joy
🎯 Purpose
✨ Magic
Messaging gives them all three!
By reimagining writing as “messaging”, children:
💖 Feel excited to communicate
📬 Share their ideas freely
🚀 Gain confidence — and say goodbye to “reluctant writers”!
Curious Quests (KS1)
An exciting journey into storytelling and imagination ✨
Children:
🌟 Explore books, poetry and role play
💬 Build rich vocabulary
🎨 Create, invent and imagine freely
📚 Develop a love of stories
🎥✨ What Does Drawing Club Look Like?
Drawing Club is a true adventure 🌟
Each session includes:
👩🏫 Time Together — sharing a story, animation or picture book
🎨 Creative Exploration — children bring ideas to life
Based on a “Golden Blend” of:
📚 Books
🎬 Animations
📖 Tales
🎨 Drawing Club in Reception
🖍️ Message Centres in Reception
🔤 Curious Quests in Year 1
🗺️✨Curious Quests in Year 2
We are excited that Year 2 are now continuing their journey with Drawing Club through the next stage of adventure — Curious Quests! 🌟
After reaching the Bridge of Doom in Year 1 😱🌉, children now:
🚪 Step through a brand-new portal into the next chapter
🎨 Invent creative ways to cross the bridge — drawing, building, writing or acting
🧑🤝🧑 Meet their new Faithful Friends and continue the adventure
💫 The Adventure Continues…
Children will:
🧠 Retell and build on their previous learning
⚔️ Create new powers, tools and ideas for their characters
🗺️ Imagine and map out the journey ahead (including the Bridge of Anubix!)
👾 Invent their own versions of The Greap
🪄 The Magic of Learning
Through Curious Quests, children develop:
✏️ Writing skills — stories, poems, instructions and recounts
🔤 Phonics and spelling knowledge
💬 Communication, imagination and creativity
🌟 Portal Poem Magic
Children learn a special poem to open the portal and protect their ideas 🪄✨
“Glimmering, shimmering, portal bright,
Keep what we send out of sight…
May the magic be with you.” 🌈
🚀 Let the Adventure Begin!
With guidance from Professor Klunk 🧑🔬✨, children explore learning behaviours, teamwork and creativity to support their quest.
Year 2 truly brings Drawing Club to life — where imagination leads learning every day! 🎨💖
💫 Why We Love Drawing Club
Drawing Club puts the creative teacher at the heart of learning 💖
✨ No rigid schemes
✨ No fixed texts
✨ Just freedom to explore, imagine and create
Together, we bring stories to life and make learning unforgettable 🌈📚
🔗 Find out more:
Visit Can I Go And Play Now
