Best Shape Activities for Preschoolers
The world of shapes is a mesmerizing dimension for toddlers, where they understand how to organize visual information and even learn basic math skills. Yes, math skills! All of this, of course, while playing!
Let’s get started with the best possible exercises to help preschoolers solidify their understanding of two-dimensional structures and improve their cognitive development.
The best shape activities for preschoolers
Here are some activities that will help ‘shape’ your child’s mind at this most nascent stage of learning.
1. Shape Hunt
One of the most fun shape activities. Get your little one to point out shapes in their home excitedly.
Hot Tip: Older children can record shapes on paper as they go, while younger ones can discuss their findings with you.
2. Playdough Madness
You can put this most loved item of play for children to even better use by having them make shapes out of it. One of the shape activities that never goes out of style.
Hot Tip: Consider using geometric cookie cutters to make those shapes with a sense of elan.
3. Toothpick shape fun
Get those toothpicks out and have your toddler create shapes with them. This is one of the more creative shape activities for preschoolers.Hot Tip: you can later use gumdrops to make ‘3-dimensional’ shapes like pyramids and cubes.
4. Sidewalk chalk shapes
Shape activities are cooler outdoors! Draw some shapes on the sidewalk and have your child hop from one to the next when you call out the names of the shapes.
Hot Tip: Want your kids to get more exercise? Draw those shapes further from each other!
5. Get Set Sort
Get your toddlers busy sorting shapes. All you need is common items from your home. Circular shapes, rectangular shapes, etc. Kindergarten kids can indulge in this one of the shapes activities anytime.
Hot Tip: Make it even more fun by hiding several shapes and asking your child to find them!
6. Cookie Noughts and Crosses
Looking for fun with shapes activities? Bake chocolate cookies in the shapes of noughts and crosses and play the popular game that goes by the same name.
Hot Tip: Make it a set of seven. The winner gets to eat one more cookie (we all know who will eat them all!)
7. Circle collage
A good option when choosing from preschool shape activities and crafts. Get your toddler oriented with the ‘circle’ with this fun activity. The items you need for this are colored paper, scissors and glue. Cut a large circle and many small circles to glue onto the larger one.
Hot Tip: Drawing inside the smaller circles makes for a more interesting collage.
8. Block ‘Paint and Dunk’
This is among the shape activities you don’t want to miss for smaller children. Have kids dunk the blocks they play with into paint and press them onto paper to create many shapes.
Hot Tip: Use as many colors of paint as you can. Preferably a different one for each shape, for a multicolored experience.
9. Kinetic Sand Fun
This is one of the shape activities for preschoolers that will surely have them craving more. Spread some kinetic sand into a plastic container. Then, push shape puzzle pieces into the sand, remove them and have your child identify the shapes.
Hot Tip: Have your child insert the puzzle pieces themselves for fun. Afterward, let them play with the sand as a bonus!
10. Connect the dots
‘Connect the dots’ is one of the shapes activities that are integral in improving concentration and developing image recognition. You can even make a version yourself if you can’t find it in your local shop.
Hot Tip: Use dry-erase markers to play this game on windows.
11. Nature shape hunt
Shapes activities for kindergarten in the outdoors are thoroughly engaging. Have your child find stones and other things shaped like the ones they are learning: circles, triangles, rectangles…
Hot Tip: If there are four or more kids, you can divide them into groups and see which group finds the most shapes.
12. Train Art
All kids love ‘choo-choo trains.’ Get them to create their own through this, one of the preschool shape activities and crafts you don’t want to miss. Use rectangle paper cut-outs as the train wagons and circular ones as wheels.
Hot Tip: Have children draw doors and windows on the wagons, and a train track, too!
13. Fun Shape Books
If you want to shape activities that will help nurture a love for reading in your child, look no further. There are plenty of fun books out there to choose from to teach your toddler all about shapes.
Hot Tip: Try and find a book with a section for adults that might help them teach their children more about shapes.
14. Get cheesy
Take that cookie noughts and crosses game to another level by cutting cheese into plenty of other shapes and placing them within outlines of their counterparts on chart paper.
Hot Tip: You could use different types of cheese for different shapes to raise the fun quotient of this game. You should cut small pieces, though. It’s cheese, not sugar, but calories nonetheless!
15. Shape Clouds
A great way to infuse crafts with shapes activities. Draw the outlines of different shapes on a large piece of chart paper with a pencil. Then tell your child to say, make a ‘cloud triangle’ by having them fill in the triangle shape with a cotton ball.
Hot Tip: You might want to use blue chart paper to enhance this game with the effect of a ‘blue sky.’
Start your Child’s Early Education with EuroKids
One of the best parts about teaching shapes is that kids don’t even realize they are learning. By getting them to indulge in the activities listed herein, you will find them building and manipulating in so many ways that will help drive a deep engagement.
Visit EuroKids for more engaging blog.