Activities about shapes

25 Creative Activities and Ideas For Learning Shapes

Learning shapes is one of the earliest concepts we teach kids. This readies them for geometry in the years ahead, but it’s also an important skill for learning how to write and draw. We’ve rounded up our favorite activities for learning shapes, both 2-D and 3-D. They all work well in the classroom or at home.

1. Start with an anchor chart

Colorful anchor charts like these are terrific reference tools for kids learning shapes. Have kids help you come up with examples for each one.

Learn more: A Spoonful of Learning/Kindergarten Kindergarten

2. Sort items by shape

Collect items from around the classroom or house, then sort them by their shapes. This is a fun way for kids to realize that the world around them is full of circles, squares, triangles, and more.

Learn more: Busy Toddler/Shape-Sorting

3. Snack on some shapes

Everyone loves a learning activity you can eat! Some food items are already the perfect shape; for others, you’ll have to get a little creative.

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Learn more: Chieu Anh Urban

4. Print with shape blocks

Grab your shape blocks and some washable paint, then stamp shapes to form a design or picture.

Learn more: Pocket of Preschool

5. Go on a shape hunt

These “magnifying glasses” make an adventure of learning shapes! Tip: Laminate them for long-term use.

Learn more: Nurture Store UK

6. Hop along a shape maze

Use sidewalk chalk to lay out a shape maze on the playground or driveway. Choose a shape and hop from one to the next, or call out a different shape for every jump!

Learn more: Creative Family Fun

7. Assemble a truck from shapes

Cut out a variety of shapes (excellent scissors skills practice!), then assemble a series of trucks and other vehicles.

Learn more: Little Family Fun

8.

Teachers and kids love geoboards, and they’re a great tool for learning shapes. Give students example cards to follow, or ask them to figure out the method on their own.

Learn more: Mrs. Jones’ Creation Station

9. Drive on shaped roads

Use these free printable road mats to work on shapes. Bonus: Make your own road shapes from sentence strips!

Learn more: PK Preschool Mom

10. Find shapes in nature

Take your shape hunt outside and look for circles, rectangles, and more in nature. For another fun activity, gather items and use them to make shapes too.

Learn more: Nurture Store UK

11. Put together craft stick shapes

Add Velcro dots to the ends of wood craft sticks for quick and easy math toys. Write the names of each shape on the sticks for a self-correcting center activity.

Learn more: Surviving a Teacher’s Salary

12.

This is a STEM activity that’s sure to fascinate everyone. Make 3-D shapes from straws and pipe cleaners, then dip them in a bubble solution to create tensile bubbles. So cool!

Learn more: Babble Dabble Do

13. Prep a shape pizza

Cover a paper plate “pizza” with lots of shape toppings, then count the number of each. Simple, but lots of fun and very effective.

Learn more: Mrs. Thompson’s Treasures

14. Construct shapes from toothpicks and Play-Doh

This is an excellent STEM challenge: how many shapes can you make using toothpicks and Play-Doh? Marshmallows work well for this activity too.

Learn more: Childhood 101

15. Outline shapes with stickers

Kids adore stickers, so they’ll enjoy filling in the outlines of the shapes they’re learning. They won’t realize it, but this gives them fine motor skills practice too!

Learn more: Busy Toddler/Sticker Shapes

16.

Lacing cards have long been a classic, but we really like this version that uses drinking straws. Just cut them into pieces and glue them along the edges of the cards.

Learn more: Planning Playtime

17. Make shapes with LEGO bricks

LEGO math is always a winner! This activity also makes a good STEM challenge. Can your students figure out how to make a circle from straight-sided blocks?

Learn more: Pocket of Preschool

18. Categorize shapes by their attributes

Work on geometry terms like “sides” and “vertices” when you sort shapes using these attributes. Start by placing shapes into paper bags and asking students questions like, “The shape in this bag has 4 sides. What could it be?”

Learn more: Susan Jones Teaching

19. Count and graph shapes

These free printable worksheets challenge kids to identify shapes, then count and graph them. Lots of math skills, all in one!

Learn more: Playdough to Plato

20.

Add arms, legs, and faces to create cheery (or scary) shape monsters! These make for a fun classroom display.

Learn more: Fantastic Fun and Learning

21. Sift through rice for shapes

Sure, kids can identify their shapes by sight, but what about by touch? Bury blocks in a bowl of rice or sand, then have kids dig them out and guess the shape without seeing them first.

Learn more: Fun With Mama

22. Craft an ice cream cone

Ice cream cones are made up of several shapes. Encourage kids to see how many different ways they can make a sphere of “ice cream.”

Learn more: Extremely Good Parenting

23. Ask “What does the shape say?”

If you don’t mind the risk of getting that song stuck in your kids’ heads, this is such a neat way to combine writing and math.

Learn more: Around the Kampfire

24. Piece together shape puzzles

Use wood craft sticks to make simple puzzles for kids who are learning their shapes. These are inexpensive enough that you can make full sets for each of your students.

Learn more: Toddler at Play

25. Feed a shape monster

Turn paper bags into shape-eating monsters, then let kids fill their hungry bellies!

Learn more: Teach Pre-K

From teaching shapes to long division and everything in between, these are the 25 Must-Have Elementary Classroom Math Supplies You Can Count On.

Plus, 22 Active Math Games and Activities For Kids Who Love to Move.

27 Amazing Activities for Learning Shapes

Learning shapes is an early and important teaching concept. This is a terrific way to introduce children to problem-solving skills and pattern recognition. The learning of shapes prepares students for future math courses such as geometry. Check out these 27 amazing ideas for learning shapes!

Create your very own box of chocolates with a variety of shapes. Use a stencil to cut shapes from foam board. Draw basic shapes inside a heart drawing to represent a box of Valentine’s chocolates. Students will match the foam shapes to the drawings. This is a super activity for Valentine’s Day!

Learn more: Active Littles

Shape Bingo is a great idea for 3D shape practice! This fun activity is free and can be used in the classroom with the entire group or for classroom learning centers.

Learn more: 123 Homeschool 4 Me

For this engaging activity, use painter's tape to create outlines of shapes on the floor. Have your children hop from shape to shape. You can have them say the name of the shape once they hop into it. They can also throw beanbags into the shapes for more fun.

Learn more: Learn Play Imagine

Kids will absolutely love this shape activity. They will get to help make chocolate chip cookies shaped like X's and O's. Once they finish playing a few rounds of tic-tac-toe, they will have the opportunity to eat the delicious cookies!

Learn more: The Realistic Mama

This is a favorite shape sorter for 2 to 3-year-old children. You will need contact paper, scrapbook paper, and felt or foam shape pieces. You can make or own or purchase them.

Learn more: Happy to Shelf

Children love building snowmen, so they will have a blast with this free snowman-themed activity! Kids will learn about shapes as they match each snowman's head to its same shaped body.

Learn more: Tot Schooling

Cut out several shapes and create a piece of art as a classroom example. Next, give each student a stack of the same shapes and have them create the same masterpiece. When students have completed their artwork, you will have a fun classroom display!

Learn more: Raising the Spenglers

Marshmallow geometry is an engaging and fun activity for teaching children shapes. They will learn the names of 2D shapes as well as their characteristics. All you need is pretzel sticks, miniature marshmallows, markers, and card stock or construction paper.

Learn more: Playdough to Plato

Children love these shape poems! These poems are free and allow students to be introduced to a variety of key shapes. Leave these displayed in your classroom for students to see on a daily basis.

Learn more: Miss Kindergarten

These free shape printables are a fun activity for shape identification for preschoolers and toddlers. They will learn to be successful at shape-matching while they strengthen their fine motor skills.

Learn more: Modern Preschool

Purchase wooden circles, a plastic ice tray, and shape stickers or colored paper cut in shapes. If you use colored paper, you will also need glue to attach the shapes to the wooden circles. Children will place the wooden circles in the correct spot on the tray.

Learn more: Mess for Less

The shapes monsters craft is so much fun for kids! They will learn about shapes and colors as they create their very own monsters. The only supplies you need are construction paper, glue, and scissors.

Learn more: Live Well Play Together

Teach children about the circle shape. You will need colored paper, scissors, and glue to complete this activity. Have the child cut out a large circle and many small circles. The child will then glue the smaller circles on the larger circle.

Learn more: Family Education

Using stories about shapes is a terrific way to teach kids all about shapes! They can learn about shape names with these books. This resource will help you find the perfect shape book to use with your child today!

Learn more: 123 Homeschool 4 Me

Using shape workbooks is a wonderful way to teach your children all about shapes. This workbook is created for preschoolers and offers shape guides, tracing, patterns, matching, activities, and much more. Buy yours today!

Learn more: Libro World

This simple shape puzzle is a DIY activity that is so easy to make. Your little one will enjoy playing with it over and over again as they learn all about basic shapes and their characteristics.

Learn more: Laughing Kids Learn

Preschoolers will love this shape activity, and it is so easy and inexpensive to create. Just draw some shapes on pieces of paper and have your child find real-life objects to match the shapes.

Learn more: Frugal Fun 4 Boys

You and your child can venture out in nature and have your child pick up a few small sticks to create simple craft stick shapes. They will have a blast in nature as well as create these basic shapes.

Learn more: Toddler in Action

The little learners will have lots of sensory shape fun with this activity! These sensory bottles are super easy to make, and little ones can twist, flip, or shake the bottles to find the basic shapes. These bottles are perfect for center time or quiet time!

Learn more: Pocket of Preschool

Little ones will enjoy making clouds out of shapes. This activity is simple to create; all you need is a shape printable, glue, and cotton balls. Let your little one create clouds of different shapes and have a blast doing so.

Learn more: Planning Playtime

This free resource provides 10 shapes printables that will help your child strengthen motor skills while learning all about shapes. Your child will use cooked spaghetti noodles to outline the shapes. They will have a tremendous amount of fun completing this activity!

Learn more: Schooltime Snippets

Kids will love this bubble wrap painting activity, and they will learn about shapes. They will have a blast popping the bubbles and painting different shape patterns. Your child will also develop fine motor skills as well as improve hand and eye coordination.

Learn more: Learning 4 Kids

Purchase a large tub of foam sticker shapes, so your child can create a shape rainbow. Draw the outline of a rainbow and put one shape of each color in a certain place on the rainbow outline and then allow your child to fill in the rest.

Learn more: Fun Learning for Kids

Are you searching for an engaging activity that will increase your child's fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination? If so, this is the perfect activity. It will also teach your child about shapes and encourage the use of critical thinking skills.

Learn more: Fun Learning for Kids

This video will explain the preschool pipe cleaner shapes activity. This fabulous activity is perfect for 2-4-year-old children. It increases fine motor skills as well as hand-eye coordination. Your child will also learn about shapes, colors, and counting.

Learn more: Zaneta The Work At Home Mama

Your child will learn about shapes while creating a cool robot! This engaging activity also develops cognitive skills and fine motor skills. Cut out the shapes and glue the robot together.

Learn more: Fun House Toys

Draw a variety of basic shapes on a coffee filter. Name a shape and have your child drip water over the correct shape. The shape will disappear, and you can move to the next shape. This activity is also terrific for fine motor practice!

Learn more: Gift of Curiosity

Abstract of the lesson in mathematics "Geometric figures" (reinforcement) | Plan-summary of a lesson in mathematics (middle group):

Abstract of a lesson in mathematics.
Subject: Journey in the camp: Geometrical figures. (reinforcement.)
Age group: Middle group.
Form of joint activity: integrated occupation.
Form of organization: group.
Teaching kit: mathematics in kindergarten 4-5 years old
Purpose: Learn to distinguish and name the following geometric shapes: square, circle, triangle, rectangle, exercise in counting; be able to navigate in space.
Tasks:
Educational:
To expand children's knowledge of figures. Learn to group them by color, size.
Developing:
Develop observation, mindfulness.
Develop the memory of thinking and speech.
Educational:
Promote the development of teamwork and mutual assistance when working in a team.
Stimulate interest in mathematics.
To develop the skills of cultural behavior in society.
Materials:
For children - a card with four stripes, circles (large and small) in four colors: green, blue, yellow, red; geometric figures.

For the teacher: Four baskets with stickers of figures (for example, the first basket is a triangle, the second is a square ...) Geometric shapes according to the number of children of different colors. Four bags of different colors: green, blue, yellow, red. Three keys. Soft toy. nine0045

Class progress.
The educator invites the children to the mat all the guys come up and stand in a circle in the center of the circle there is a tutor and invites them to go to a country not simple, but magical, geometric, and in this country everything consists of figures. The entrance to this country is bewitched in order to disenchant the entrance to the magical land, you need to get three magic keys.
In: I invite all children
Set off on a journey soon
Tests are waiting for you
Difficult tasks.
Our path will be long with obstacles. Are you guys ready for this journey? nine0005 D: Yes, ready.
Q: In that case, you can hit the road. The teacher and the children come to the first table. There are geometric figures on the table.
Q: Our first task: There are different pieces on the table. You need to take one piece at a time and name them.
D: Everyone in turn takes a piece from the table and clearly names the piece he took.
V: Well done guys, you all answered correctly. We passed the first task correctly, the path to our country is getting shorter, we have received our first key. (the key was under the last figure.) Let's move on to the second task:
There are four baskets on the chairs in the group, figures are glued on each (circle, square, triangle, rectangle). To do this, whoever has squares, stand up to the basket with the square. Who has circles, stand up to the basket with the circle. Whoever has rectangles, stand up to the basket with the rectangle. And whoever has triangles, stand up to the basket with triangles.
D: Find their baskets and stand up.
Q: Guys, if you're ready, put your pieces up. Well done, now put the pieces in your baskets. And in one of the baskets, the children find the second key. Now we can move on. nine0005 They approach the rug and there the whole rug is strewn with different figures of different colors. (While the children were doing the tasks, the junior teacher poured the figures onto the mat.)
There are four bags of different colors on the mat.
Q: Guys, this is our last assignment. In order to get the third key, you need to collect and group the pieces by color, then put them in bags.
Y: They complete tasks and find the third key in one of the bags.
V: Well done guys, you did the job. Magical land is disenchanted!!! nine0005 Guys, while the country was bewitched in the “dishes” store, all the cups mixed up the shelves, you need to help put things in order in the store. To do this, sit at the tables for each child a card with four stripes and 14 circles.
The teacher explains. “This (points to the circles) Large and small cups.
They should be placed on the shelves as you wish.”
Variants can be as follows:
- mugs lie in disarray on each shelf;
- mugs lie on two shelves (large and small)
- mugs are arranged by color on four shelves. nine0005 The teacher asks everyone how he arranged the cups and which shelf has more of them and which one has less.
You can invite the children to arrange them so that each shelf has “cups” of the same color. Ask which “cups” are more: red or blue; yellow or green.
Q: Well done guys have put things in order in the store, now residents of the magical land will be able to come to the store and easily choose cups. I suggest you clean up the toys and go for a walk there will be many more interesting things.
On the street you can play the game: "Find the hidden toy." nine0005 With the help of a rhyme, a leader is selected:
Seagulls lived at the pier,
Their river pumped water.
One, two, three, four, five -
Help me count them.
The host goes out the door. The children hide the toy. To find it, the driver is given directions: “Go from the swing to the sandbox, turn right from the sandbox, take three steps and look there”
Game options: The teacher indicates the direction of the asphalt with arrows of different colors.: The child indicates the direction: “From the beginning go there where the blue arrow points, then go three steps and look there.” nine0005 When turning, the child must say where he turned: to the right or to the left.
The game is played several times at the request of the children.

Summary of the lesson on the formation of elementary mathematical representations in the middle group on the topic: "Geometric shapes"

Tasks:

1. To form children's skills to compare objects in shape, find objects of different geometric shapes.
2. Contribute to the development and improvement of the ability to navigate in space. nine0102
3. Cultivate perseverance, interest in mathematics.

Equipment: an envelope with geometric shapes, pictures depicting objects made up of geometric shapes, templates with geometric shapes and cards for them, a chain of geometric shapes.

Move:

Guys, come to me, I'll look at you, how beautiful you are today! I see not everyone is in a good mood! Do you want everyone to have a great mood? (Children's answers.)

Excellent! I know one rhyme that cheers up all the guys.

All the children gathered in a circle (stand in a circle)

I am your friend (hands to chest)

And you are my friend hands)

Let's smile at each other (smile)

Well done! Is everyone in a good mood? (Children's answers.)

Guys, look what's new in our group? (Children's answers. )

Correct! Can you tell me how these figures differ from each other? Describe each figure. (Children's answers.)

Well done, now we have found out that all children know the difference between them.

Do you guys want to play? (Children's answers.)

Well, there is a sample with geometric figures on the tables, and the figures themselves lie separately. You need to lay them out according to the pattern. Is the assignment clear? (Children's answers.)

The one who correctly collects the sample will receive a medal. (On the sample: circle, triangle, oval, square, rectangle.)

Well done on this task!

Now I will give you a riddle and you must guess it - draw a figure.

I have no corners

And I look like a saucer,

For a plate and for a lid,

For a ring and a wheel. (Circle.)

Great, we did it! You will also receive medals for it.

Guys, are you tired? (Children's answers.)

Then let's rest a little:

Physical minute "One, two, three, four, five"

One, two, three, four, five - stomp your feet,

One, two, three, four, five - clap your hands,

One, two, three, four, five - practice again.

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