Jan 30, 2022

What shape is this?

This week's blog is all about shapes! Children notice different shapes even if they do not realize that those shapes have names. (It takes time to learn the language of Math)

Their ability to sort will help them to recognize and identify the similarities, the attributes, or properties of each shape.
They also need to learn is the concept of same and different as it pertains to shapes – a circle could be bigger or smaller or even a different colour but it is still a circle
Children also need to learn to describe the position of the object. Is it above or below, next to? Under or over?
Knowing about shapes helps children to learn about two-dimensional structures

Recognizing shapes helps in many areas of learning:

Reading and writing - the shapes of letters when reading and the ability to make the shapes of individual letters
Math – shapes also children to recognize and learn numbers. They will recognize shapes when they do geometry
Categorizing and comparing – children need to use their observational skills to focus on the specific attributes of different shapes. They learn how to compare and sort shapes into groups
Problem solving – shape-sorting toys teach children to recognize the attributes of a square or a rectangle. Shapes also help when putting together jigsaw puzzles and when building structures of out blocks

Did you know?

HIPPY Halton children have a bag of coloured shapes to work with. You can use them to play games like these:

Which one is missing? Place three shapes on a plate and look at them. Put a cloth over the shapes and remove one. Ask the child to identify the missing shape!
Tracing shapes – Look for the basic shapes - circles, triangles, squares, and rectangles around your home and trace around them on a piece of paper.
Shape bingo - Make simple bingo cards together and the play bingo. You can add a dimension by colouring the circles, triangles, and rectangles differently and asking child to identify the blue circle, red square etc.
Shape Collage - Provide cut out shapes in different colours and make collage masterpieces while you talk about the individual shapes and colours.
Find the shapes! Have a scavenger hunt using old magazines or newspapers to find pictures of circles, squares, and rectangles.