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Teaching Preschoolers Shapes

Teaching preschoolers about shapes can be a humdrum exercise---or a ton of fun. On the humdrum side, simply hold up shapes made of construction paper and have the children repeat the shape names. To add excitement, sing songs about shapes and dance with the kids; play games such as "I Spy" to help recognize shapes; prepare and eat foods of different shapes and sizes. You can be guaranteed that children won't forget a circle when they eat an Oreo, or a triangle when it's made of a tortilla chip.
  1. Eating Shapes

    • Kids love cooking and eating so use those activities to supplement the study of shapes. Provide triangle, circle and square cookie cutters to use on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches; serve round pieces of fruits and veggies (sliced oranges, bananas, carrots and cucumbers); cut cheese into squares and triangles; and bake cookies in a variety of different shapes.

    Shape Art

    • Art projects are a natural when it comes to teaching about shapes. Make collages out of paper cut into various shapes; do printmaking, each day with a different shape (for example, round objects to print with can include oranges, round sponges and the bottoms of cans). Play dot-to-dot, forming circles, squares, triangles, diamonds and stars---and then have fun coloring them in.

    Take a Walk

    • Go on a walk, pointing out shapes along the way. Car tires are round; so are the centers of many flowers. The hopscotch court is made of squares; doors are rectangular; some traffic signs are triangles. Once children get the idea, their "finds" will be endless.

    Songs and Rhymes

    • Get active when you sing shape songs or recite rhymes. Hold up the right shape when it's mentioned in a song; make your own shape movements with your body or use the movements suggested on websites such as songsforteaching.com.

      Teach simple rhymes such as "Round in a circle; round in a game; round and round to hear your name." All the children form circles with their hands during this chorus; one child then says his full name; the chorus repeats; and the children each say their name in succession.

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