Category Archives: Shapes

A Piece of Red ›Paper, by Sara Stein

What if you found a sheet of paper and turned it into wonderful food and a whole table full of good things? This book will inspire children to get creative.

Materials

  • Lots of paper in plenty of colors and textures.
  • Placemat pattern

Vocabulary

  • Creative (to think of something and then make it)

Before Reading the Story;

Hold up the cover of the book and read the title. Ask the children if they can guess what the story might be about. Ask them to name the shape. Can they tell if the shape has been cut by scissors or ripped? How can you tell? (The edges are not straight).

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; begins to recognize, describe, compare, and name common shapes, their parts and attributes.

Reading the Story

Bring a cut red circle to the story and follow the author as she makes an apple with a bite. Point out all the shapes and ideas as the story progresses. When the book asks “What would you do with a piece of red paper”, let the children share their ideas.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; begins to recognize, describe, compare, and name common shapes, their parts and attributes.  AND Creative Arts/Art; begins to understand and share opinions about artistic products and experiences.

After Reading the Story

Play Jumping Bean! Cut a manila file into 1 inch strips. At the bottom of each strip draw a shape. On some of the strips draw a little lima bean shaped man. (for 20 children I would make 15 shape strips and 5 jumping bean strips). Put all the strips into a cleaned out can. The children take turns picking a strip. If they get a shape they must name it. If they get a bean man they shout “Jumping Beans!” and everyone jumps up and down. Continue until everyone gets a turn or two.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; begins to recognize, describe, compare, and name common shapes, their parts and attributes.  AND Social & Emotional Development/Cooperation; develops increasing abilities to give and take in interactions; to take turns in games or using materials; and to interact without being overly submissive or directive.

Discovery;

Go on a shape walk and look for shapes in the world. What shape do you see on the chain link fence? What shape do you see in the sidewalk, on the car, or near the door?

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; progresses in ability to put together and take shapes apart.

Music and Movement

Play Musical Chairs. Make two sets of shapes in a variety of colors. (2 red circles, 2 blue circles, 2 red triangles, etc). Bring enough chairs to the area, as there are children who are playing the game. Tape one color shape set to the back of the chairs, one per chair. Give the children the matching color shapes, one per child. Turn on the music and the children walk around the chairs. When the music stops, everyone must find the chair that has the correct shape and color on it and sit down. Have the children name the colors and shapes as you go around collecting them. Mix them up and play again. Do not take any chairs or children away. The concept is to find the shape and color that match the one you are holding.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; begins to be able to determine whether or not two shapes are the same size and shape.  

Blocks

Encourage the children to make shapes with the blocks.  How many blocks will it take to make a square?  Can you find blocks to make a triangle?  Can you find blocks to make a letter in your name?

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; progresses in ability to put together and take shapes apart.

Art

Give the children lots of paper to cut and rip into a variety of shapes.  Challenge them to collage them together to make an art picture.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; progresses in ability to put together and take shapes apart.  AND Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; grows in hand-eye coordination in building with blocks, putting together puzzles, reproducing shapes and patterns, stringing beads, and using scissors.

Library and Writing

Put out pieces of colored paper with the color written across it. (green paper with the word green written across it). Encourage the children to find the same color marker and practice writing the color name on their own piece of white paper.

Literacy/Early Writing; progresses from using scribbles, shapes, or pictures to represent ideas, to using letter-like symbols, to copying or writing familiar words such as their own name.

Sand and Water

Put small magnet shapes in the sand, if you do not have small shapes, cut them out of cardboard.  Add sand to cover the shapes and give the children tongs, pinchers, tweezers to pick up the shapes and drop into a basket as they name.

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; grows in hand-eye coordination in building with blocks, putting together puzzles, reproducing shapes and patterns, stringing beads, and using scissors.

Dramatic Play

Encourage the children to set the table putting the knives, spoons, and forks, in their proper places. Make placemats that the children can follow.

Social & Emotional Development/Control; develops growing capacity for independence in a range of activities , routines, and tasks.

Math and Manipulatives

Make weaving looms from paper for the children to use. Cut out strips of 1 inch wide paper in a variety of colors. Show the children how to take the strips and go under over, then over under.

Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; grows in abilities to persist in and complete a variety of tasks and activities.  AND Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; builds an increasing understanding of directionality, order, and positions of objects, and words such as up, down, over, under, top, bottom, inside, outside, in front, and behind.

Outdoor Play

Encourage the children to use sticks to draw shapes in the dirt or dampened sand.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; progresses in ability to put together and take shapes apart.  AND Literacy/Early Writing; experiments with a growing variety of writing tools and materials, such as pencils, crayons, and computers.

Transitions

Hold up a piece of paper and ask the children to name the color name and if they can think of an object that is the color.

Approaches to Learning/Reasoning & Problem Solving; develops increasing ability to find more than one solution to a question, task, or problem.

Dear Parent- today we talked about shapes.  Cut out a circle, a square, or a triangle from a  piece of paper.  Hand it to your child and encourage them to look about your home to find 3-5 items that have that shape as part of their structure.  Try playing this shape game using several shapes.

Resources

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Round is a Tortilla; a Book about shapes by R. Greenfield Thong

A little girl finds shapes everywhere in her home environment.  This book is a good reinforcement to noticing the many shapes in our world.

Materials

  • Child picture
  • Several small empty and clean cans (such as tomato sauce or paste)
  • Several small empty and strong boxes (such as jewelry)
  • Pool noodle cut into 2-inch sections.
  • Pieces of felt cut into shapes of pizza ingredients

Vocabulary

There is a glossary in the back of the book to help define the many Spanish words throughout the story.

Before Reading the Story

Ask the children if they can draw a circle shape in the air. Now you draw a circle in the air while saying ”a circle has no sides, it just goes round and round”.  Have the children draw another circle in the air.  Ask the children if they can draw a square in the air.  Now you draw a square in the air and say, “a square has four equal sides”.  Show them how to draw a square by starting at your shoulder and moving your hand down to your waist then over, up, and over again counting the sides as you go.  Now try a rectangle saying, “it has four sides also but two are very long.  Start above your head and say down, over, up, over.  Try a triangle.  “A triangle has three sides”.  Start at your head, move your hand to your shoulder, your other shoulder and back up to your head counting the sides as you go.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; begins to recognize, describe, compare, and name common shapes, their parts, and their attributes.

Reading the Story

Point out the illustrations that go with the Spanish words.  When the book asks if the children can name shapes, stop and let them.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; begins to recognize, describe, compare, and name common shapes, their parts and attributes.

After Reading the Story

Hang 5 pieces of paper onto the wall.  At the top of one write Circle, top of 2nd write Square, Rectangle, Triangle, and Oval.  Draw the shape next to the word.  Ask the children to help you name objects that fit each shape category.  Write the children’s responses under the correct shape.

Literacy/Early Writing; develops and understanding that writing is a way of communicating for a variety of purposes.

Discovery

If funds allow, it would be fun to make tortillas or to purchase tortillas and load them with grated cheese.

Put out a circle, a square, a rectangle, and a triangle cut from construction paper.  Have each child pick a shape and go for a shape walk around the classroom.  Ask them to find three things that are their shape and bring them back to the center.  They can trade off shapes and continue their shape walking.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; shows progress in matching, sorting, putting in series, and regrouping objects according to one or two attributes such as color, shape or size.

Music and Movement

Play circle games with the children such as The Hokey Pokey or In and Out the Windows.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7v3xLaEqCk Have the children stand in a circle and holds hands up high to form windows.  One child weaves in and out of the windows while everyone else sings.  At the end of the first verse, in and out the windows the child picks another person to take their place weaving in and out the windows. Continue singing the first verse over and over until everyone has had a turn going in and out the windows.

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; shows progress in understanding and following simple and multi-step directions.  AND Social & Emotional Development/Cooperation; develops increasing abilities to give and take in interactions; to take turns in games and using materials; and to interact without being overly submissive or directive.

Blocks

Challenge the children to make shapes using a variety of blocks.  Use masking tape to make large shapes on the floor for the children to use blocks to outline and/or fill in.

Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; grows in abilities to persist and complete a variety of tasks, activities, projects, and experiences.  AND Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; progresses in ability to put together and take apart shapes. 

Art

Put out your cans and small boxes along with paper plates with one or two colors of paint.  The children can put the can or box into the paint and use it to print the shapes onto paper.  Remind the children that when they print, they move their arm up and down, up and down.

Creative Arts/Art; gains ability in using different art media and materials in a variety of ways for creative expression and representation.

Sand and Water

Water and a pool noodle cut into many 2-inch lengths.  Let the children experiment stacking them in the water.  How many tall can they stack?

Mathematics/Number & Operations; demonstrates increasing interest and awareness of numbers and counting as a means for solving problems and determining quantity.   AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; develops increasing ability to count in sequence to 10 and beyond.

Library and Writing

Draw shapes on pieces of manila folder and let the children cover it with play dough.  Can they roll out snake lengths to be a side?  Can they roll many balls to go around the edges?  Can they pound the dough to fill in a shape and then use a plastic knife to edge it out?

Physical Health & Development/Fine Motor Skills; grows in hand-eye coordination in building with blocks, putting together puzzles, reproducing shapes and patterns, stringing beads, and using scissors.

Dramatic Play

Making pretend pizzas out of felt shapes is fun if you have the funds or time to do so.

Creative Arts/Dramatic Play; shows creativity and imagination in using materials and in assuming different roles in dramatic play situations.

Math and Manipulatives

Put out any parquetry blocks or other shape materials that you may have for the children to play with.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; progresses in ability to put together and take apart shapes

Outdoor Play

Draw a hopscotch board on the cement today.  Show the children how to hop and jump through the squares. 

Physical Health & Development/Gross motor Skills; shows increasing levels of proficiency , control, and balance in walking, climbing, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, marching, and galloping.

Transitions

Bring 3-5 large shapes cut from construction paper.  Cut out a small child and use it to hide under the shapes.  Have a child cover their eyes and then place the child shape under one of the construction paper shapes.  Have the child open their eyes and ask the child to name the shape where they think the paper child is hiding. Continue around the circle until everyone has had a turn. 

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; begins to recognize, describe, compare, and name common shapes, their parts and attributes.

Resources

To hide under transitions game