Cut out a large rectangle, a small rectangle, two small squares, a large triangle and two small triangles. You can either make one set or make a set for each student. Tell the children that they are building a house and to decide as a class which shapes need to be glued where to construct it. Glue the big triangle on top for the roof, the squares and small rectangle as windows and doors, and the small triangles as trees. A book called "The Shape of Things" by Dayle Ann Dodds can accompany the activity, if you wish, as it points out the shapes of objects around us.
Review shapes at snack time with your preschoolers by doing a little culinary preparation. Get square crackers and slice whole carrots into thin circles. Use cookie cutters for more advanced shapes such as hearts and stars out of deli meats and cheese. When it is snack time, ask students what shape they would like to eat for their snack instead of what food. If you have adult help, instruct the students to use the cookie cutters to make shapes out of real dough and bake cookies.
Send students on a treasure hunt in the classroom in search of different shapes. First ask students to find something in the room that is a circle. Give them three minutes and have them come back together to talk about what they found. Then ask them to find a rectangle and repeat the process. Be sure to discuss how real-life objects aren't always just one shape.
Use masking tape to make several shapes on the floor in an open space in your classroom. Then tape a "toe line" about five feet away from the shapes. Line up students behind the toe line and give the first child two bean bags. Tell the child to throw the bean bags so they land inside one of the masking tape shapes. For more advanced students, ask them to first choose which shape they would like to throw the bean bag into, and then try to accomplish this.