Fun With Geometric Shapes

What do you want for breakfast today? Circles or triangles? Children love learning Geometry through fun gaming activities!  How can families help young children prepare for success in geometry?  A game with shapes is a great start. There are many ways to interact with your children and grandchildren while learning about shapes. 

Materials  Needed:

Ten popsicle (craft) sticks, glue, construction paper, and crayons

What To Do:

  Draw and point out the characteristics of some basic shapes like squares, rectangles, triangles, pentagons, circles, rhombus (diamond) and trapezoids, or read a book about shapes. Then take a walk around your house and help children identify basic shapes. If it is a nice day take a walk outside and look for those shapes. Later, choose a place with a flat surface and together count out ten sticks.

  Help children create a given shape using a specified number of sticks. For example, you could ask children to make a shape with three sticks. Help your child remember the name of that shape. See if a rectangle could be made with all ten sticks and then create that shape together. What about a square? Investigate what makes a square different from a rectangle. Together find the greatest number of sticks it would take to make a square. Ask your children if it is possible to make a circle. Why not? Be sure to identify each shape as you help your children create it.

  Talk about where you saw these shapes on your walk. Encourage your children to find more. You could play “Find that Shape” game with this. Take turns saying the name of a shape and see if children can find it.  Then trade places.

How Will This Help My Children?

  Families are helping children identify different shapes and learning important math vocabulary that is also part of reading and speaking vocabulary. Your children are practicing counting skills as they use a different number of sticks to build shapes and developing logic and problem solving skills as they discover how to make the figures.

What Else Can We Do?

  Your children might enjoy gluing the sticks down into a particular shape and then adding details to make a picture. For example, a house is made up of a triangle (roof) and a square or rectangle. Flowers, grass and sun could be added. They may also want to make a picture with geometric designs. Introduce more shapes if you think your children are ready.

  Great books to discover together are “My Very First Shape Book” by Eric Carle, “Shapes, Shapes, Shapes”and other books by Tana Hoban,  “Mouse Shapes” by Ellen Stoll Walsh, and” Flip a Shape: Play! “by SAMi” Books by Ed Emberley help older children use step by step directions and geometric shapes to draw almost anything.

For more math activities see the authors’ book “Learning through the Seasons” online at: http://www.grandparentsteachtoo.org/ and listen to this and many other activities at WNMU Audio Podcast 

Illustration & photo: 

Mark Nowicki & Scaglione, Margaret. fan1.jpg. March, 2008. Pics4Learning. 22 May 2013

Help Children Become Writers

When children begin to understand that they can put their words and ideas down on paper, they are  on their way to becoming writers.Young preschoolers use drawing and scribble writing to begin.  Later, as they develop more muscle control and a little awareness of the importance of letters, they may print strings of letters across the page.  When they start elementary school, they will learn that the sounds they need can be shown by printing certain combinations of letters to make a word.  As a grandparent, you have a wonderful opportunity to model writing and to develop your preschooler’s interest in self-expression. 

Materials You Will Need:  Sheets of white paper, crayons, pencil or pens.

What To Do: Make a picture poster

   This is an activity that can be done anytime during the year.  Be sure your preschooler has many opportunities to scribble and draw with pencils, crayons, washable markers, etc.  Sometimes children will want an older child or adult to draw with them.  First, talk together about what to draw. Maybe they will want to draw other members of the family or their pets or friends or a fun activity. Pictures will vary based on age level and muscle development.

   When the picture is finished to the satisfaction of your child, ask him/her to tell something about it.  Make up a simple sentence together.  PRINT your child’s words at the top or bottom of the paper using lower case letters(not caps)  except for beginning of names.  When you are done, point to the words and read it back out loud several times.  Put the picture up on the refrigerator, or let your preschooler take it around to show and “read” to others.

How Will This Help My Child?

  You can help your preschooler get ready for school by showing that ideas can be written down with letters and words.   When you talk together and make up sentences, you are helping to build a strong vocabulary. Children who have many opportunities to draw, scribble and write develop the necessary small muscle control which is expected in elementary school.

What else can I do?

Sometimes, when you are talking about a picture, it is fun just to print the names of things or label parts of the drawing.  As your child names the different parts, print the word next to it.  For example, print “tree” or “Daddy” or “car”.  Later, point to each word and read it back.  When finished, print your child’s name clearly on the picture. 

Look for more activities like these online at Grandparents Teach, Too and at WNMU Public Radio Learning through the Seasons Podcasts 

Illustrations: Mark Nowicki  

Inside Fun and Imaginative Play

Children of all ages love to make a special cozy place to play. Outside, kids fashion huts or set up tents.  On a cold, snowy or rainy day when the little ones need to be inside, they can have hours of fun with  a little help from you.  With just a few things from around the house, you can help them set up a little box train, tent or hideaway place.

Materials you will need:

Cardboard boxes of various sizes, paper plate, markers, sofa cushions, pillows, saw horses(optional), 2 chairs or a card table, snacks, flashlight

What to do:

For a quiet activity, spread a big sheet over the chairs or card table or saw horses.  Inside the tent, let your children make a little room with their favorite blanket, pillow and books or toys.  Sometimes, little kids can fit into a tunnel or hut made just with sofa cushions placed against a solid surface.  Send in a non sticky snack like crackers or cheerios. A flashlight adds extra fun.

  For a more active time, use cardboard boxes to make a play train.  The boxes can vary in size as long as your child can sit in them.  Each box is a different car.  Markers can be used to draw on wheels and lights for the engine.  A paper plate can be made into a steering wheel.  Kids love to take turns being the engineer and passengers. Maybe they will take their toys for a ride.

What else can I do?

         Train books like “The Little Engine that Could” will be fun to read together.  Some children may like to pretend they are the conductor, collecting money and giving tickets.  Support the activity by helping to pretend and by carrying on a conversation, especially if there is only one child.  Don’t forget to take some pictures so that the activities can  be shared  with others later.  (You can also teach some basic math concepts by counting the boxes, the wheels or by comparing the size of the boxes.)

How Will This Help My Child?
      

Reading together is always a wonderful activity.  Imaginative play builds vocabulary, problem solving and communication skills. Children playing in the tent are learning to control their environment, problem solving, as well as developing an appreciation of quiet activities.  Reading and dramatic play activities should always be done with the TV OFF.  It is too hard for children to use their imaginations when the television is distracting them.

Look for more activities like these online at Grandparents Teach, Too and at WNMU Public Radio Learning through the Seasons Podcasts 

Photo, Dizzy's Castle: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dizzyscastle/7797869068/
Photo, Build a Fort: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lemon/8350451041/sizes/z/in/photostream/