Preschoolers

Shape Walk

Take the first steps toward geometry learning.

What you need:

• yourself
• picture of different shapes

What to do:

  1. Prepare this activity by drawing shapes on a piece of paper -- a triangle, circle, square, rectangle, oval, and diamond.

  2. Look at the shape drawings with your child.

  3. Play follow the leader! Walk in the outline of a shape and let your child follow you. Narrate what you're doing: when you turn a corner to make a square, for example, you might say "Sharp turn coming up!"

  4. Can your child match the shape she walked with the drawing of the shape?

  5. For an additional challenge, draw a shape with your finger on your child's back. Can she guess the shape?

Learning Benefits

• develops large-motor skills
• encourages shape recognition