I currently only have toddlers (two 19 months, & one 22 months). They do get lots of free play. We try coloring (but 1 of them still tries to eat the crayons), coloring on the chalk board (same one still tries to eat the chalk lol), just made a rainbow rice bin for them, have yet to see how that will go. One of the 19 month olds is my daughter and she LOVES the rice bin. She did try to eat one but decided it was pretty gross since it tasted like vinegar. She loves to scoop and pour and push matchbox cars through the rice. The flannel board is also fun for them. My kids love finger plays. Itsy Bisty Spider always gets a huge round of applause from each of them! They like to listen to short stories and I just started a short circle time with them. We sing the days of the week song, I say what day it is and then we look outside the window to check the weather. They don't always sit still for it, it's to be expected and I'm OK with that. We talk about colors, shapes, and ABCs. It's not really structured like a classroom of preschoolers would be, but more child led. If I see one of the kids looking at the posters of the colors or shapes I will go over to them and talk with them about what they see. Like cheerfuldom said, there is not much time left after play time, outside time, eating, diaper changes and naps. We don't get outside much right now because of the weather. Once I bundle them up, they can hardly walk. They remind me of the little brother on A Christmas Story.
Once we can play outside I will be adding a water table and am thinking of hanging a large piece of plywood sprayed with chalkboard paint on my fence.
I've found that you can have them try things (within reason) and even if it isn't technically a success (toddler tries to eat crayon instead of coloring with it), it is still good for them. The more they are exposed to different things, the better they will become at them. It really does depend on the ages and maturity levels of the kids. Believe it or not, my oldest one is the one who still tries to eat the crayons and chalk! I think a lot of it has to do with exposure too. I don't think she has access to crayons and chalk at home, whereas my daughter constantly has access to the crayons and chalk here. She LOVES to color and hasn't tried to eat crayons in months. If you are going to try coloring with the under 2 crowd, you may want to have them in their high chairs/booster seats to start with. I know mine won't sit still at the table and before I know it there would be crayon all over the walls. lol