My Favorite Animal
Parent and child draw the child's favorite animal together, with the parent creating an outline and the child coloring it in. The agent coaches the parent to observe the child's scribbling technique, wrist movement, and fine motor control while fostering creativity and joint attention.
Opens a guided voice session in TogetherTime.
What you'll need
Parent and child sitting together at a table or on floor with drawing surface. Paper, crayons/markers, and optional toy/picture of favorite animal within reach. Ensure child has enough space to move arms freely.
How it works
- 1~30s
Let's start by asking your child about their favorite animal. Show them the toy or picture if you have one, or just talk about animals. Ask 'What's your favorite animal?' and watch how your child responds. Does they look at the toy, point to it, or try to say the name? This shared focus on the same object is called joint attention, and it's a wonderful cognitive skill we can observe.
Watch for: Child shares attention with parent on the same object (toy/picture of animal), showing coordinated focus.
- 2~40s
Now take a crayon and draw a simple outline of the animal on the paper. Make it basic — just a circle for the body, maybe a head, legs. As you draw, invite your child to watch. Say 'Look, I'm drawing your {animal}!' Observe if your child watches your hand movements, points to the drawing, or shows anticipation for their turn to color. This observation phase builds understanding of the activity sequence.
Watch for: Child observes parent drawing and shows anticipation or understanding of taking a turn.
- 3~60s
Now hand your child a crayon and say 'Your turn to color the {animal}!' Watch closely as they begins. Focus on two things: First, is your child making marks on the paper — any kind of lines or scribbles? Second, look at their wrist movement. Is they moving mostly from the wrist, or using their whole arm? At this age, we expect mostly wrist movement with some whole-arm motion. Tell me what you notice about your child's scribbling technique.
Watch for: Child makes intentional marks on paper — lines, scribbles, or circular motions — showing developing fine motor control.