Learning Shapes with Tape

Learning shapes (or anything for that matter) should be fun and full of play, especially when we are talking about toddlers! Go grab your painters tape, and give this activity a try.

Prep:

There is little to no set up for this activity, all you need is painters tape and some toys that happen to be the shapes you plan to work on. Gather the toys ahead of time for your little one to sort, or turn it into a shape hunt and let them go find the shapes themselves. Finally, use your tape to make shapes on the floor.

Depending on your child's prior practice with shapes, start with only two shapes. You can add shapes to the activity later and repeat it again and again.

Play and Learn:

If you have toys/materials already gathered, go ahead, and have your child start sorting them into the taped shapes on the floor. You may also have them start searching for things around the room that are the shapes you are working on. Regardless of how you prepare and direct the activity, you will want to do some modeling and narrate while you play. "Wow, I found a toy plate. It is round, it must be a circle. I am going to put it in the circle on the floor." or "Hmmm, this block is a cube. It is made up of squares. A square has four sides that are the same."

Your child may not master the shapes you are working on today, and we don't expect them to! The point of the activity is to give them practice and exposure to the language and attributes that make up the shape. It is also providing them with the opportunity to observe shapes in real life and not just on a flashcard. I definitely do not expect my toddler to remember that the block is called a cube. We are not even talking about 3D shapes right now! Remember, your toddler is taking in more than you realize, and talking about it today will give them exposure and real-life experience.

As with any activity, observe and pay attention to your child. The first time I tried this with my son, he was not ready. Even with only two shapes, he wasn't interested, so we moved on and didn't force it. I knew that I had just provided him with some brief exposure to shapes and that was all he needed. A few months later, I tried this activity again and he was all over it! We did a shape hunt, and after seeing me do a few shapes he was all in. If he found something that didn't fit with the shapes I had on the floor, he would insist I make a new shape with tape.

Extending the Activity:

After we cleaned up all of our sorted objects, we left the shapes taped on the floor. We played a little game similar to Simon says using the shapes. I would give him a direction, "Go stand on the circle." or "Jump on the triangle." Etc. He still needed some assistance, so I sat on the floor, and patted the shape with my hand if he wasn't quite sure. He thought this game was hilarious, and I loved that it was expanding his understanding of shapes, while also practicing the skill of following a simple direction!

We left the shapes on the floor until he was ready to take them off himself. Peeling that tape off the floor is great for building fine motor skills too! Often times during the week, he would play as if he was oblivious to the shapes being there. Other times he would incorporate the shapes into his play. For example, He built a house using the square as an outline, another time he lined his toy animals up along the tape to make a triangle. Now, does he know all of his shapes? Nope, and he doesn't need to yet. However, he has had exposure and that is key to him finding success with these skills in kindergarten.