Teaching shapes in Kindergarten is one of my favorite lessons. There are so many different activities to choose, and it is so easy to make shapes fun and engaging.
When planning which activities I want to use, I think about what attributes I want my children to learn.
When teaching sides and vertices (corners), my favorite activity is shape building cards. These cards show students how to build shapes using marshmallows and toothpicks (or pipe cleaners for round shapes).
The toothpicks make it easy for students to see how many sides a shape has. While the marshmallows make it easy for students to count the number of vertices.
Prepping for Teaching Shapes in Kindergarten
Before we get into using shape building cards, I want to make sure you know how to prep your cards.
This shape activity is made to be hands-on. So, you will need to print, laminate, and cut out the cards. Sounds simple? It is!
There are only 3 pages, so you won’t use much ink (always a plus). I use a personal laminator and don’t pre-cut. Once I have laminated my pages, I use a paper trimmer to cut the cards apart.
That’s it! Now my cards are ready to use.
So, let’s get started teaching shapes in kindergarten!
How to Use Shape Building Cards
- Lay out toothpicks, marshmallows, pipe cleaners, and shape building cards.
- Students will use the materials to build the shape on their card.
- Toothpicks will be used for straight sides
- Pipe cleaners will be used for rounded sides
- Marshmallows will be used for corners
*wrap the pipe cleaner around its side to hold round shapes without corners (circle and oval)
What Makes my Shape Building Cards Better
There are a ton of shape building cards out there, but mine are better. HA HA!
But I’m serious.
Most shape building cards do not include rounded shapes because they are intended to use with toothpicks alone. However, I include rounded shapes in my sets because you can use pipe cleaners to form the rounded edges. This allows you to get more bang for your buck (and for your time).
Conclusion
This activity is extremely simple, but it is so powerful. It teaches the most important attributes of shapes, and kids love it!
Shape Building has always been my children’s favorite shape activity and I’m positive your students will love it, too!
The cards shown in the video above are summer themed, but I have shape building cards in a ton of themes.
Spring
Looking for more shape activities? Visit my blog about Shape Tracing Cards to learn 5 ways to use Shape Tracing Cards (shape tracing cards are included in most of the themes above).
