Purchase cookie cutters in the desired shapes. These are great for cutting sandwiches or cold cuts and cheese into finger foods in a variety of shapes. Create an assortment and ask your child to identify each one as he eats it, or challenge him to find a certain shape. Young children will be able to identify the shape when asked before being able to name the shape. Practice identifying shapes, and move on to naming them once your child demonstrates an understanding of basic shapes. If your child has difficulty, work with only two shapes at a time. He will soon learn to distinguish one from another.
Serve English muffin pizza for a lesson in circles. Add round pepperoni slices, small rounds of ham, or slices of tomato to complete the assortment of circles. Talk about the shape as you make the pizza, and demonstrate that a circle has no sides.
Cut foods to reveal shapes. Make triangles by cutting sandwiches diagonally. Add tortilla chips and cheese triangles to complete a quick lunch of triangles. Slice fruits and vegetables into rounds. An orange cut in half creates a perfect circle that is fun to eat with a spoon. Cutting an apple in half reveals a star in the center.
Choose square crackers topped with peanut butter or cheese for a healthy snack. Cookies and crackers are available in rounds, squares and triangles. Buy an assortment to use for teaching shapes.
Teach shapes with breakfast cereals. Cereal provides a convenient opportunity to incorporate shapes into the meal, as it is available in a variety of shapes. Look for cereal that has more than one shape. If he eats the cereal dry for a snack, your child can sort the shapes into groups.
Use shaped pasta to teach shapes. Not only is pasta available in a variety of shapes, but it is fun to eat, too. Look for dried pasta in varying shapes. Let your child choose which shapes he wants you to cook for lunch.