Why I Built Scribble Scrabble

I have this vivid memory from childhood of grabbing my box of crayons, a blank sheet of paper, and shouting "It's Scribble Scrabble Time!" Then I'd pick up a crayon, any color, and just go for it. I'd draw big spirals, tiny scribbles, layers and layers of colors until the page was covered in a glorious, colorful mess.

It was one of my favorite things.

Sharing the Joy

Now as a parent, I've been thinking about how to share this memory and sense of creative freedom with my kids. I'm a software engineer, and I wondered if I could translate this childhood memory into something digital. Something that captures the simplicity and immediacy of grabbing a crayon and just... creating.

So I built Scribble Scrabble.

Scribble Scrabble isn't an app with seventeen different brushes, sticker packs you can unlock, or a tutorial on how to draw the perfect unicorn. It has no ads, no in-app purchases, and no complicated features. It's just a blank canvas and colors. The digital equivalent of that childhood joy of pure creative expression.

Open it up, pick a color, and draw. If you want, you can save your image. That's it.

The Result

Both of my kids love Scribble Scrabble! Sometimes they'll sit side by side, each drawing their own pictures. Other times, they'll give each other ideas about what to draw next.

One unexpected bonus is that Scribble Scrabble has become our go-to at restaurants. When we're waiting for food and the kids start to get restless, I'll pull up Scribble Scrabble on my phone. Sometimes they'll draw alone, sometimes I'll draw with them. Either way they're excited to create. There's something special about having a shared creative moment that feels different from just handing over a device to keep them quiet.

There's research to back this up too: Harvard's Center on the Developing Child says that back-and-forth exchanges between a young child and a caring adult help build and strengthen connections in the child's brain.^[1] It's not about the final product, it's more about the presence and the process.

This is what Learn With Love is about: making learning feel like play. It doesn't have to be complicated or expensive, either. Sometimes the best tools are the simplest ones. The best part, as you can imagine, is watching your child get excited to create.

Try It Yourself

Scribble Scrabble is free to use at scribblescrabbletime.com. No signup required. Just open it up and see what happens.

Happy scribbling!