Doodle Turtle

How to Draw Up and Down Bats

12 easy strokes · ages 4+ · free printable worksheet

To draw up and down bats with a 3-5 year old, break it into 12 simple strokes: a little bat, up high, two pointy ears, a pointy wing, another wing, one eye, two eyes, and a bat, down low and a few finishing touches. Doodle Turtle draws one line at a time and then pauses, so little hands have time to catch up before the next line appears. Doodle Turtle is free, runs in any browser, has no ads and needs no sign-up.

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Step by step: 12 easy strokes

  1. STEP 1
    A little bat, up high
  2. STEP 2
    Two pointy ears
  3. STEP 3
    A pointy wing
  4. STEP 4
    Another wing
  5. STEP 5
    One eye
  6. STEP 6
    Two eyes!
  7. STEP 7
    And a bat, down low
  8. STEP 8
    Two pointy ears
  9. STEP 9
    A pointy wing
  10. STEP 10
    Another wing
  11. STEP 11
    One eye
  12. STEP 12
    Two eyes. Up and down!

Free printable tracing worksheet

Prefer paper? Print up and down bats as a faint tracing outline — your child draws straight over the lines, then colours it in.

Tips for grown-ups

  • Watch first, then draw. The first pass is just for looking — no pressure to keep up.
  • Let the pause do the work. If your child is still drawing when the next stroke starts, tap to pause. Slower is the point.
  • Big paper, fat crayons. At 4 the wrist is still learning; large movements are easier than small ones.
  • Praise the trying, not the likeness. A wobbly bats that they drew themselves beats a neat one you fixed.

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Draw Up and Down Bats

Trace the lines, then colour it in — draw with me, slow and happy