Draw common geometric shapes -- a circle, square and triangle -- on individual note cards. Make cards with a diamond, rectangle and star shape. Show preschoolers the cards, one by one, naming the printed shapes drawn there. Ask children to name each shape as the cards are shown. Practice naming the shapes every day.
Take the children on outings, or for a walk around your home or school. Choose a card from the shape card stack and encourage preschoolers to find objects in the environment that match the shape on each card.
Make a shape book. Look through magazines for pictures of things in geometric shapes the children are learning. Help preschoolers cut the shape pictures from the pages. Provide a sheet of 9-by-12 inch construction paper for pictures of each shape. Write a shape's name across the top of each paper. Draw an outline of the shape beneath the name. Glue the pictures to the construction paper. Staple the pages together to form a shape book.
Lay blocks or paper cutouts of the shapes preschoolers are learning on a table. Ask the children to name each shape. Discuss the physical attributes of each shape. Point out that circles curve into a round shape and squares are made of four straight lines. Ask the children to describe characteristics of the shapes.
Show preschoolers red, yellow and blue blocks. Name each color. Ask the children to name the colors as you point to them, then ask them to find objects in the room that match the colored blocks. Practice each day, adding three new colors to the activity each week.
Designate a "color of the day" each day. On red day, dress in the color red and eat red foods. Make a great pile in the center of a room, full of all of the red objects preschoolers can find. Go on a walk to discover red objects outside. Draw a picture, using a crayon or marker in the color of the day.
Buy colored candies -- jelly beans or candy-coated chocolates -- and ask preschoolers to sort them according to color.
Cut squares of colored construction paper in half. Place the squares in a shoebox. Let preschoolers match the paper pairs and name the colors.