Introduce the subject of shapes with large replications of circles, triangles, squares and rectangles. Call out the names as you show the pictures and have the children repeat the words after you. Another literacy activity you can work on with the students is to have them draw and label each shape. You can have the words written on individual index cards so the children can match the shape with the appropriate name. Repeat identifying and drawing lessons periodically so that all the students learn the shapes.
Take preschool work a step further once your children have mastered identifying common shapes by teaching them a few traffic signals and their meanings. For example, you can teach what the red, yellow and green circles in a stoplight mean. Reinforce this lesson by giving the students a coloring sheet so they can color each circle the appropriate color. You can also inform the students regarding the triangular yield signs and rectangular speed limit signs. Encourage the kids to identify the different shapes of the signs they see out of the car window when riding with parents.
Combine a science and art activity by teaching your preschoolers to combine shapes to make pictures of animals. For example, you can create a turtle or tortoise from circles, ovals and triangles similar to the activity constructed by The First-School website. You can do this for your class by preparing a template of a turtle using a large oval for the body, a small circle for the head, four small ovals for the feet and a triangle for the tail. Make enough copies for every child. Cut out the shapes and instruct the children to put the animal together by pasting the parts onto a sheet of construction paper. Allow the children to decorate the shell and add details such as eyes.
Send your preschool kids on a shapes scavenger hunt around the classroom or their homes. Ask them to identify objects and their shapes for you. For instance, help them identify square desks, a globe, an oval egg and a triangular pennant. Assign a homework assignment in which the children bring in four small objects from home so they, in essence, conduct two scavenger hunts. Conduct a show-and-tell activity the following day in which each child discusses his finds.