In this game, your child will use pictures and real objects to practice identifying different shapes. Learning about shapes and how to describe them will help your child with later math and science concepts. This type of visual discrimination task also helps with identification of letters and numbers.
Learning Area(s): Language and Communication; Math
MATERIALS
- Shapes (for example, from a shape puzzle, shape sorter, or set of blocks) or objects with different identifiable shapes; for example, a Lego (rectangle), a plastic cookie (circle), a Dorito chip (triangle), a square pillow, etc.
- Cards with matching shapes (at least including circle, square, triangle, rectangle. May also include diamond [rhombus], heart, star, etc.)
- Small bag or box
LET'S PLAY
Gather your items of different shapes. Introduce the game to your child, for example, “Let’s play a shapes game and see what kinds of shapes can we find in our house?” Hold up one item and ask your child, “What is this?” (Dorito or chip) and “What shape does it have?” (triangle) If your child doesn’t know, show how to look at the sides (and other features) to identify the shape of the object. For example, say, “This Dorito chip is a triangle shape. See, there are one…, two…, three sides. Triangles always have three sides.” Do this for each item to see what your child already knows.
Next, put the shape matching cards in a bag or box. Have the child pull out a card and identify the shape. Then encourage your child to find the objects that are the same shape as the shape on the card. Continue playing as long as your child is interested.
After your child masters this game, go on a “shape hunt” to look for additional items in your house that are a specific shape (e.g., “Let’s walk around and see what else in our house is shaped like a circle!”)
TIPS
- Some children enjoy games with questions, while others are worried about saying a wrong answer. Remember to stay warm and positive with your child, even when correcting his/her answers.
- When beginning this activity, some children may have an easier time identifying 2-dimensional shapes (like a picture of a square or a triangle puzzle piece) than finding the same shapes in the real world (recognizing that a Dorito chip is a triangle). By tracing the outline of the shape with your finger, describing it, and saying its name, you can help children focus on the important features of the shape.
- Once your child can identify 2-dimensional shapes in pictures and in real objects, you can add challenge to this activity by using 3-dimensional solid shapes (cubes, spheres, cones, cylinders). See which of these shapes you can find together in your house and/or outside!