The concept of shapes for kids is quite a new thing when they observe it for the first time in their life. Learning shapes for kids can become quite challenging in itself. Instead of teaching shapes to pre-schoolers the usual way, why not mix it up with an activity that is fun for you as well your kid. Right from using objects that are present around the house, to obtaining certain items that are specific to the learning activity, both of them can together help your child in learning the underlying principles behind each shape. That is the best way to understand shapes or anything for that matter.
15 Best Shapes Learning Activities for Pre-schoolers
1. Shapes Around Us
What You Will Require
Some free time and a good presence of mind
How to Do It
Take a random object around your home, or any fruit or vegetable, or a toy and ask your kid what shape it is. Let this question pop up randomly any time. This makes your child look at it as a game and not a learning activity. With repetition, they will start recognizing patterns. This keeps your child vigilant as well, during long trips that you might take with your family, and make them a keen observer at recognizing patterns around in the world.
2. Flash Cards with Different Shapes
What You Will Require
Some blank flash cards or flash cards that have various geometric shapes printed on them, preferably in a variety of colours
How to Do It
For younger kids, you can show them the card and ask them to name the shape on it. Conversely, you can place all the cards before them and ask them to point out a particular shape, such as a square or a circle.
For slightly older kids, you can help them understand the meanings of sides and edges and help them count it.
Flashcards not only help in recognizing the shapes but also help in memory as well. You can turn the flashcards upside down and ask him to match shapes between two cards. This will further enhance their spatial memory as well as shape recognition together.
3. Using Clay Moulds
What You Will Require
- Some modelling clay or Play-doh
- Moulds in the form of various geometric shapes
How to Do It
Create exercises to make green circles or red squares and let your kids start using the frames accordingly. By associating colours and shapes, their learning is reinforced and they can start making associations faster. Later, you can remove the moulds and ask them to make the shape just by using their hands.
Clay moulds integrate the abstract form of shapes and make them an entity that they can feel and mould in their own hands. This allows sensing various aspects of a shape, making their spatial and visual understanding about such objects, much better than usual.
4. Puzzle Pieces of Various Shapes
What You Will Require
A puzzle set with different geometric shapes in it
How to Do It
Let your child work towards completing the puzzle and ask him to name every piece that he puts in the puzzle. By understanding the building blocks of the puzzle and seeing the larger picture, it helps them work on two levels of thinking. You can ask him to name any shapes that a bunch of blocks might form together.
Puzzles help build logic along with shape recognition, as they begin to understand why a particular shape might fit the puzzle and why the other won’t. This logical understanding helps develop a preparation for understanding complex geometrical problems in the future.
5. Sorting and Categorizing Shapes
What You Will Require
- Many toy blocks in different shapes
- A shape sorter. This is not strictly needed
How to Do It
Place all the blocks inside one bag. Let your kid take out one block from the bag and name the shape. Once named, let him place it in one section. Observe if he continues to do so for repeated shapes.
Sorting of shapes helps your child in handling large quantities of a variety of objects and recognizing patterns in them. This pattern recognition is of great help as your child grows up and starts tackling complicated geometrical shapes in higher classes.
6. Baking Geometrical Shapes
What You Will Require
- Some cookie dough mix
- Cookie cutters of different shapes
How to Do It
Follow the instructions of the box and prepare the cookie dough appropriately. Flatten it out and ask your kid to use cookie cutters to cut out proper shapes. Provide him with numbers, such as 5 square cookies or 8 circle cookies, and let them use the right cutter and count out the cookie shapes. This becomes a fun cooking activity that teaches them geometry and generates an interest in cooking as well.
Using a cookie cutter to cut the dough into appropriate shapes serves two purposes. Not only can they observe a shape in form of a dough that is fully filled, but a cookie cutter helps them understand just the outline of a shape and recognize it just from that.
7. Cutting Out the Right Shape
What You Will Require
- Some craft paper
- A bunch of sketch pens
- Child-friendly scissors
How to Do It
Sketch out various shapes on the craft paper that can be easily cut. These need not strictly be geometric shapes and could range from dolls to various animals, fruits, and so. Teach your child how to cut the shape along the line and ask him to name each shape once he’s done cutting them out.
Cutting shapes helps your kid recognize the outline that makes a shape what it actually is.
8. Tracing and Coloring Shapes
What You Will Require
- A blank paged colouring book or one that contains various shapes
- A bunch of pencils and an eraser
- Some crayons
How to Do It
In case of a blank colouring book, draw various geometric shapes that are large enough to be coloured in. Ask your child to trace the shape with a particular crayon. Teach him how his hand needs to move along the lines. Once traced, let him fill it with the colour of his choice.
Tracing and colouring shapes give your kid an idea behind the concept of an area that a shape encompasses within itself.
9. Match-Stick Shapes
What You Will Require
- A matchbox with a lot of matchsticks
- A large chart paper
- Some glue
How to Do It
Place the chart paper clearly on a table and keep the matchsticks on one side. If needed, stick the paper to the table using scotch tape. Give your child a shape and ask him to sketch it on the paper. Once sketched, let him use matchsticks and glue them to the shape he has sketched out. You can gradually progress to shapes with more sides that require him to break matchsticks in order to fit them.
Matchsticks help force a restriction on the number of shapes that can be formed and help think outside the box.
10. Shape Matching
What You Will Require
- Some drawing sheets
- Child-friendly scissors
- A pencil and some glue
How to Do It
Use the chart paper to cut out various shapes from it. Geometric shapes as well as everyday objects like fruits, cars, etc. Trace the same shapes on another chart paper of a different colour. Hand over the cut out shapes to your child and ask him to place the shapes in the correct space of the other chart paper.
Matching shapes together helps build the memory as well.
11. Shapes on the Sidewalk
What You Will Require
- Some free time
- A strong chalk
- A crowd-free area
How to Do It
Take your child in the open and ask him to create a path using specific geometric shapes. Let them draw a path to the tree using triangles, another path towards you using rectangles or so. Moreover, you could also draw various shapes in an area and play hop-skip-jump by naming the shapes you want him to jump to.
This is extremely creative as an exercise and makes the entire world your child’s canvas.
12. Sorting Household Objects
What You Will Require
Old or household objects that are not being used
How to Do It
Place all such objects in a room or around the house. Then, ask your child to bring you all the objects that resemble a particular shape. Observe what he might bring to you and resolve any confusions that they might have.
If you are smart, you can use this activity to help your child organize things around the house.
13. Making the Right Shapes Disappear
What You Will Require
- A large tray
- Some coffee filter paper
- A plastic straw and water
How to Do It
Draw various shapes on a large coffee filter paper and place it on the tray. Now ask your child to make a specific shape disappear. He can then suck some water in the straw and put it over that particular shape, which will then fade away with the paper. This is quite a magical and fun activity for your child.
14. Stamping with Foam Blocks
What You Will Require
- Foam blocks in various shapes
- Some paint
- A clean white paper
How to Do It
Keep the white paper in front of your child. Keep the paint on one side and foam blocks on the other. Ask your child to stamp shapes of a particular colour on the paper. Watch him go wild and make an abstract art of his own. You can make this fun by asking him to make a tree using triangles and observe him stamp it all out in the right manner.
15. Treasure Hunt of Shapes
What You Will Require
- A large plastic box
- Some salt
- Small plastic blocks in various shapes
- A spoon
How to Do It
Put the plastic blocks in the box and cover it completely with salt. Ask your child to search for the blocks within the box. Whenever he discovers a shape, ask him to name what it is. Furthermore, you could ask him to discover a particular shape only and ask them to shift the others in a different area.
There are numerous shapes activities for children that are great at providing strong learning and making the entire time fun as well. Be creative with them and integrate these activities into an everyday routine of the home. Chopping vegetables and using those pieces to stamp colours on a paper can let your child interact with you during your household activities, too. Learning does not have to resemble typical schooling and games can help your kid understand things quickly as well.
