Make Learning Shapes Fun with This Simple Activity

            Today's post is a special guest post from Education.com. Education.com has all kinds of resources, free and paid, for teachers and parents alike. The activity below is great for teaching shapes in a more engaged way...and might just be the perfect activity for your little ones who might be getting restless indoors this time of year!

            If your child is just learning about shapes, this matching activity is a great way to practice shape identification and introduce basic geometry skills. Each craft stick will have only half of a shape. She'll have to match up the stick pair and place them side by side to complete each shape.


What You Need:

• At least 20 craft sticks (make sure you have an even number and maybe even some extras in case of mistakes)
• Markers in assorted colors

What You Do:

1. Place two craft sticks directly next to each other.
2. Help your child draw a shape on the two sticks. Try to split the shape equally between the sticks.
3. Repeat step 2 until your kid has created as many shape stick pairs as she wants.
4. Have her mix up the sticks.
5. Encourage your child to match the sticks to create shapes.

            The shapes you use don't need to be complicated. Have your child try drawing a circle, square, triangle, and whatever else is easy. Also, take the opportunity to talk about the concept of symmetry and help your child understand which shapes she created for her puzzle game are symmetrical and which aren't. Before you know it your child will be a master matcher.

            If you want, you can extend this activity into a shape observation game. How many different circles can she find in your house? What about squares? As she plays games like this, it will become easier and easier for her to recognize different shapes and their special characteristics.

This is a guest post from Education.com. Opinions are those of the original author.