Free Scribbles
Parent provides crayons and paper for child to scribble freely, observing how child holds the crayon and moves arm during drawing. The agent coaches the parent to notice whole-hand grasp, shoulder-initiated arm movements, and exploratory color use — building foundational fine motor control and creative expression.
Opens a guided voice session in TogetherTime.
What you'll need
Large paper taped securely to table or floor. Chunky crayons within reach. Child seated comfortably with space to move arm freely. Surface should be at appropriate height for arm movement.
How it works
- 1~30s
Place a crayon in front of your child and see how they picks it up. At this age, most children use their whole hand in a fist grip. Watch closely — does your child wrap all their fingers around the crayon, or try to use just a few fingers? Notice how they holds it when they first starts making marks. Tell me what you see.
Watch for: Child uses whole hand (palmar grasp) to hold crayon, wrapping fingers around it in a fist.
- 2~40s
Now watch your child's arm as they scribbles. At this age, children typically move their entire arm from the shoulder rather than just the wrist or fingers. See if your child's shoulder is doing most of the work — you might see big, sweeping motions rather than small, controlled ones. Does they make big circles or back-and-forth strokes using that whole arm movement?
Watch for: Child moves entire arm from shoulder to create scribbles, using large motor movements rather than fine wrist control.
- 3~35s
Now offer your child a second color. Watch how they explores the different crayons. Does they switch between colors intentionally? Does they seem to notice or care about the color changes, or is they more focused on the physical act of marking? At this age, the exploration itself is what matters — we're looking for engagement and curiosity rather than color recognition.
Watch for: Child shows curiosity and engagement with different colored crayons, exploring them through sensory and motor experimentation.