Free marksExpress · 18–24 months

Scribbling on big paper

With a big sheet of paper taped to the floor and some thick crayons, they find out that their arm leaves lines of colour.

To do with your toddler between 18 and 24 months. It works on: cause and effect, gross motor skills and visual tracking. You'll need: thick wax crayons, masking tape and large format paper.

In the app, one activity a day for their age →

What do I need?

• Thick wax crayons
• Masking tape
• Large format paper

How do I do it?

1. 01

   Set up the paper

   Tape a large sheet of paper to the floor or a low table, with masking tape on the corners so it stays put. A normal sheet is too small for how your little one moves at this age. Leave 2 or 3 thick crayons nearby, easy to grip in a fist.

2. 02

   Offer a crayon

   Sit down next to them and hand them a crayon. Let them move their arm over the paper however they like: you'll see wide sweeps or quick taps.

3. 03

   Let them explore

   Don't ask them to draw anything in particular. If they stop, draw a long line of your own next to theirs and offer the crayon again.

4. 04

   Say what you see

   Describe what you see instead of asking “What is it?”: “Look how fast the blue is going!” or “You filled the whole sheet!” Talk about what they're doing, without judging the drawing.

5. 05

   Finish without rushing

   Call it a day when they let go of the crayon or wander off to something else. If you like, leave the paper taped down and carry on with it another day.

What are they learning?

They move their whole arm from the shoulder, not just the wrist, so their marks are wide and need room. On a big sheet they can move freely and see that a line of colour appears when they move their hand. What interests them is their own movement, not the drawing.

• Cause and effect

  Discovers that moving the hand with the crayon makes a line of colour appear

• Gross motor skills

  Moves the whole arm from the shoulder in wide sweeps

• Visual tracking

  Follows the line the crayon leaves as it moves

What the research says

1. Babies explore more when their movements make something happen

   Rovee & Rovee · 1969

2. A big-picture look at how movement develops

   Adolph & Franchak · 2017

3. How babies learn to track small and large objects with their eyes

   Rosander & von Hofsten · 2002

See all 7 references

1. Rovee CK, Rovee DT. Conjugate reinforcement of infant exploratory behavior. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 1969;8(1):33-39. doi:10.1016/0022-0965(69)90025-3 doi.org/10.1016/0022-0965(69)90025-3
2. Waismeyer A, Meltzoff AN. Learning to make things happen: Infants’ observational learning of social and physical causal events. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 2017;162:58-71. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2017.04.018 doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2017.04.018
3. Adolph KE, Franchak JM. The development of motor behavior. Wiley interdisciplinary reviews Cognitive science. 2017;8(1-2). doi:10.1002/wcs.1430 doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1430
4. Gerber RJ, Wilks T, Erdie-Lalena C. Developmental milestones: motor development. Pediatrics in Review. 2010;31(7):267-277. doi:10.1542/pir.31-7-267 doi.org/10.1542/pir.31-7-267
5. Adolph KE, Berger SE, Leo AJ. Developmental continuity? Crawling, cruising, and walking. Developmental Science. 2011;14(2):306-318. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2010.00981.x doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2010.00981.x
6. Rosander K, von Hofsten C. Development of gaze tracking of small and large objects. Experimental Brain Research. 2002;146(2):257-264. doi:10.1007/s00221-002-1161-2 doi.org/10.1007/s00221-002-1161-2
7. von Hofsten C, Rosander K. Development of smooth pursuit tracking in young infants. Vision Research. 1997;37(13):1799-1810. doi:10.1016/S0042-6989(96)00332-X doi.org/10.1016/S0042-6989(96)00332-X

Reviewed by Javier Atance Ibar, PhD in Education