Veronika loves to scribble and draw, and always narrates to me what her scribbles and lines mean, everything from “balloons” to “rainbows” to “dogs”. I keep a small notebook in my purse to pull out at restaurants or waiting rooms and she instantly begins her doodles. Today we made a giant version of that for her to use at home!

I taped a large sheet of craft paper to an empty space on the wall at a height she could easily reach. Already she was intrigued.

You can simply set out crayons next to the paper, but for extra enticement, I attached some above the mural.

Simply hammer a few nails into the wall, then tie a string from each and secure the other end around a jumbo crayon. “They’re dangling!” Veronika said with excitement. Not only did she immediately grab one of these dangling crayons to draw, she told me she was drawing the dangling crayon.

Needless to say, she paused to scribble on the paper every time she walked by it all day, even if just for a quick line. Other times she stopped and stayed busy for a while. “Up and down, up and down!” I caught her saying for this particular bit of abstract art:

When the paper fills up, simply swap it out for a new piece!