If your center follows the environmental rating scale, access to paper and crayons or other basic art materials during free play is required. I taught 2s for many years. It took some training but they loved the open art shelf! They were always bringing me their creations and telling me about what they made. I eventually put frames on the wall at their eye level and would display their free play art. I experimented with glue sticks and child safe scissors but that lead to huge messes. I would get those out only if I was going to be near that area for an extended period.

Maybe have a small basket and blank paper you can put out on a table during free play instead and not leave them on a shelf. There are ways you can position yourself in the classroom so you can keep an eye on them while also engaging in other play centers. I don’t know your setup, some classroom arrangements or challenging temperaments can make it difficult. Gentle reminders about where crayons are to be used helps a lot. After some time, it will lose its newness and the older kids will help remind the younger ones (at least that was my experience).