Hands-On Teaching Shapes for Kids

This hands-on activity not only teaches shapes for kids, but it focuses on fine and gross motor skills at the same time. Preschoolers will love it!

Grace has known her shapes for a few years now. The other day, I asked her what shape her sandwich was, and she looked at me like I had 2 heads!  Yikes!

I think lately I’ve been focusing on letters and numbers a lot to prepare her for preschool, and I totally forgot that I still need to review other skills with her. So, I ‘m going to go on a reviewing skills activity spree!  Woo hoo!

I started with this very easy and fun activity that is perfect for reviewing or introducing shapes to preschoolers.  

Teaching Shapes for Kids

This activity is awesome for any toddler, homeschool, preschool, or kindergarten classroom.  I know you’re excited to get started. So, here we go…

What You’ll Need

• Lots of different types of small toys or small objects

• A piece of butcher paper (seriously the best purchase I’ve made)

• Markers

• Some tape

What You’ll Do

The first thing I did was get a long piece of the butcher paper and tape it to the floor. Then, I drew several large shapes on it (heart, rectangle, square, circle, diamond, trapezoid, etc…….) in different colors with the markers.

I put the small toys and object in bins and on the floor next to the paper. We discussed each shape and talked about what made each shape different. Then, I told Grace she could use the small toys and objects to trace each shape.

How’d She Do?

This activity was great, and Grace really had a good time doing it. She started to use the object to make patterns while she was tracing.

I also love that this activity was done on the floor. She likes to move around a lot and liked that she could walk around while doing this activity.

What did she learn during this activity?

• Shape recognition
• Problem solving skills
• Following directions

This OBJECT SHAPE TRACE ACTIVITY is perfect for reviewing shapes or introducing shapes and their attributes. Try this easy and fun activity with your child today!

PRESCHOOL BOOKS ABOUT SHAPES

Fill your book basket with a great collection of books about shapes. Most of these books can be found at your local library or used bookstore.

If you have a hard time finding them, you can order them through my Amazon affiliate links by clicking the images below.

Mouse Shapes – What can you make with one oval, two circles, and eight triangles? Just ask three clever mice–who even find a funny way to trick a sneaky cat.

Round is a Tortilla – In this lively picture book, children discover shapes all around them: rectangles are ice-cream carts and stone metates, while triangles are slices of watermelon and quesadillas.

Walter’s Wonderful Web – A determined little spider named Walter is trying to make a sturdy web that will stand up to the blustery wind. The webs he makes at first are woven in special shapes–a triangle, a square, a circle–but they are still wibbly-wobbly. Can Walter make a web that is both wonderful and strong?

Teaching Resources

This felt shape magnets set is perfect for little hands to play and explore with! No need to worry about baby chewing on wooden or plastic shapes. These felt shapes are perfect for little hands.

This wooden shape-sorting toy helps kids to learn shapes, colors, counting and hand-eye coordination.

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Tara

Tara is the brains behind Homeschool Preschool, where her journey from preschool and public school teacher to homeschooling mom of three fuels her passion for early childhood education. With a blend of expertise and firsthand experience, Tara’s writings offer practical tips and engaging resources to support families in creating meaningful learning adventures at home.