Teaching Shapes to Children Everything has a shape
- from buildings to furniture, shapes are also put
together to create other shapes. Once kids learn
about their shapes, they will begin to see them
everywhere. Here are five ways in which you can
begin teaching shapes to your children:
The first way to teach children about shapes is through
visual learning through play, such as with a shape sorter
toy.
As the child plays with each shape, call out the name of the
shape. They will repeat it. As they play they
will learn to recognize the shapes.
Using posters is another way to teach shapes. These
posters can be purchased from a toy store or you can use a
poster board and create your own. If you use your own,
create animals, houses, automobiles, and trees using different
shapes. This helps children begin to see the shapes
within the main shape. For example, a house is made up of
a rectangular frame or a square frame with square
windows. Some windows are round like the doorknob.
There are many shapes to see.
The fourth method is to have a shape scavenger hunt.
This teaches children to identify shapes in their home.
Give a child a shape from your bag of shapes. Ask them to
find other shapes like that one around the house. Count
the number of shapes they are able to locate. If they can
see the shapes hidden in your home, they can identify them
elsewhere.
Point out shapes everywhere you see them: the triangles that
make a sandwich, the rectangle that is a book, the square
pillow, the wheels of a car, etc. You’ll likely be surprised by
your child when they learn their basic shapes. For more
help teaching shapes and other preschool concepts:
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