Learning shapes: look beyond the name

Two shape games with things from home

Draw a large triangle on a sheet of paper. Find a large plastic lid with a round rim and a square coaster or tile. If you cannot find something square, draw a square on a second sheet. Set the things on a clear table or floor and choose one to look at together. You can start with whichever one catches your child’s eye.

The paper is for turning and tracing. The other objects are for comparing outlines. You can say “Let’s see how this edge goes” as you follow it with your finger. A child can join by looking, pointing or tracing in the air. One shared observation is a good stopping point.

Game 1. Turn a paper triangle

Begin with one triangle drawn on a large sheet of paper. Slowly follow its outline with your finger. You can describe a straight side, a corner and another straight side. If your child wants to join in, let them point, trace in the air or simply watch.

Next, turn the paper. Ask “What changed?” or make your own observation: “Now this corner points sideways.” Follow the outline again. There are still three straight sides and three corners. If your child calls the new position something else, you can compare the two views without treating the word as a mistake to correct urgently.

Game 2. Look for an outline that matches

Trace around the lid on paper. Move the lid aside and say, “The line goes all the way round. What else has an edge like this?” You might point to the rim of a bowl together. Compare the rim with the drawing. A bowl has depth, and its rim can still make a circle when you look down from above.

Try the square next. Walk a finger around its four sides and pause at each corner. Compare it with a book cover: a book can have four corners too, but its sides may be different lengths. If your child finds another four-cornered object, look at the resemblance before naming the shape. For a triangle, try a picture on a box or fold a sheet diagonally to make a triangular flap you can point to.

Use words while playing

NAEYC describes spatial thinking as more than naming shapes, including visualising objects and using words for their positions. Our suggestions below are small ways to explore those ideas at home; they are not a reproduction of an assessed teaching programme.

Put a large paper triangle beside a book, then above it on the table. Describe where it is. You might let your child choose a new position for you to describe. Keep this separate from the question “Which shape is it?” so you can enjoy either invitation without needing to do everything together.

From a short round to a real object

If you start with Toddler Click, choose the two-answer Shapes round below. After one or two prompts, say “We found a circle. Let’s find a round edge here.” Put the device down and use the lid or paper. If the game gives you a line, trace one straight side of the paper triangle or find an edge on a book.

The on-screen game asks children to match a spoken name to an image of a circle, square, triangle or line. At home you can turn, trace and compare the outlines together. NAEYC’s Everyday Shapes guide has more ideas for noticing shape in ordinary routines.

Finish with a creation

Arrange a few large paper shapes into your own picture: perhaps a roof above a house or a triangle beside a circle. Let the picture become whatever your child imagines. There is no need to count every corner or name every piece. One curious comparison and a little shared making are enough for today.