Shapes

Read Mouse Shapes by Ellen Stoll Walsh and A Circle Here, A Square There: My Shapes Book by David Diehl.  Talk about the shapes you see in these books.

Math Skills:

(1) Create a shape mobile.  Cut out a circle, square, triangle, rectangle, diamond (or rhombus), and oval out of various colored construction paper.  Write the name of the respective shape on both sides.  Ask your child, can you help me find the [circle]?  Help your child identify shapes one by one.  Punch a hole in each and tie to a piece of yarn.  Tie the loose end of the yarn to a hanger and display.  This project is courtesy of my dear friend Christina M.
(2) Collect various objects from around the house and put them on a tray.  Ask your child to identify the basic shapes.  For example a penny is a circle, a playing card is a rectangle, a napkin is a square.  

Fine Motor Skills:

Trace each of the basic shapes on a separate piece of construction paper or utilize the free printable shape worksheet pictured below.  Allow your child to cut out the shapes with child-friendly scissors.  Depending on the age and maturity of your child you may need to supervise this activity closely. 

PDF:  www.tlsbooks.com/tracingshapesdn1.pdf

Gross Motor Skills:

Take a couple hula hoops and chalk outside.  Ask your child, what shape is a hula hoop?  Trace the hula hoop with chalk on your sidewalk or driveway to make circles.  Encourage your child to do the same.  Demonstrate how to hula hoop and show your child how to roll a hula hoop upright so that it will come back to you like a boom-a-rang.

Snack:
Circle shaped crackers such as Ritz Crackers and cheddar cheese cut into triangles.