Print your set of free shape printables and try out all these shape activities.
Free shape printables and shape activities
Magic Fun Math lessons!
Fun Math is an easy to teach, highly effective math curriculum based on play and hands-on learning.
All the lessons are designed to be fun and memorable, so children enjoy their lessons and feel confident.
The lessons are easy for teachers and parents to use, in class or at home.
These are the magic lessons where children really see, understand, and can apply math concepts. They are especially suited to children who don’t like math, lack confidence, don’t understand math the way they are currently being taught, or just want to play.
SEE MORE AND TRANSFORM YOUR MATH TEACHING HERE.
These shape card printables are a versatile set of math manipulatives that you can use in many ways.
Print your set – see below for details – and invite your children to learn about shapes in all sorts of hands-on, playful ways.
I recommend printing the shapes onto card, so they are more robust to play with.
We’re going on a shape hunt
Pop the shape cards in a bucket and invite your child to pick one out. Can they find five things in the room that are the same shape?
How many sides?
Compare and contrast the shapes by looking at how many sides each one has.
Do they all have the same number of sides? Are they all different?
Set up a simple sorting activity and explore.
Make a shape jigsaw
For a simple table top activity, make a DIY shape jigsaw.
Lay out a big sheet of paper. Draw around the shape cards to create outlines all over the paper.
Set the shape printables alongside and invite your child to match them all up.
Can they read the name of each shape?
Can they match the shapes even when they are on their side and in different orientations?
You can print several sets of the shape cards to give you plenty to match up across a whole page of outlines.
Yarn wrapped shapes
This yarn-wrapped shapes activity invites children to develop their fine motor skills and explore shapes in a hands-on way.
Set out the shape cards alongside colourful yarn.
You can tape one end of a length of yarn to the back of each shape, holding it in place and making it easier to get started with the wrapping.
Holding the shape in one hand and using the other to handle the yarn is a nice workout for co-ordination and fine motor skills.
Twisting and turning the shapes as you wrap them lets children get to know the shapes. They feel different in your hands and wrapping a round circle is different to wrapping a four-sided square.
This simple activity provides an opportunity to chat about the shape you are wrapping and to notice the small differences between each shape.
:: How many sides has your shape got?
:: Are some shapes easier to wrap than others?
:: Are the criss-cross yarns all the same length (as on the circle) or are some smaller and some longer (as on the rectangle)?
:: Do the yarns all cross in the same spot (as on the circle) or can you cross them in different places (as on the hexagon)?
More activities to explore shapes
Try these other match activities that explore shapes:
:: use our count-the-side shape matching cards
:: explore circles with Kandinsky
:: build shapes with our construction challenge cards
How to get our free printables
To download my free printables, you'll need to visit the NurtureStore Printables Library, which is available to all subscribers to my email list, and of course to Play Academy members.
Pop your email address in the form below and you’ll get access to all my free printables, lesson plans, activity ideas, weekly newsletter, and a whole lot more!
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Transform your teaching with Fun Math
The Fun Math series gives you a math curriculum that is easy to teach and highly effective.
Children love these lessons because they are engaging and fun.
You'll have a clear set of ready-made math lessons and activities that are simple to lead using our step-by-step lesson guides, and which children really understand.
Be the best math teacher and boost your children's confidence and skills with Fun Math.
See more and transform your teaching here.
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