Helping Your Child Learn Their Shapes: A Parent-Friendly Guide

This post may contain affiliate links. Full privacy policy and disclosure here.

Many people can recognise shapes such as circles, squares, and triangles. But when do children begin to learn about these shapes?

Did you know that knowledge of shapes is an important part of early childhood education? From preschool to kindergarten, kids are exposed to a variety of shapes in their curriculum.

Learning their shapes also helps children develop problem-solving skills and memory recall. This article will give you insights into why learning shapes is so important and how you can help your child learn their shapes at home.

We all know we’re supposed to encourage our children to explore new things and learn about the world around them, but who has time for all those books about learning your ABCs and 123s? Let’s be honest – as a parent, you’re busy!

You have housework to do, errands to run and bills to pay. The last thing you want is another responsibility on your list. But it turns out there are some easy ways for parents to help their child learn in the course of everyday life.

See also: 26 Mom And Toddler Activities To Try Today At Home

When Should Toddlers Learn Shapes

Learning to name shapes takes longer than learning to name colours. Around the age of two, children begin to grasp the notion of shapes, but this does not guarantee that they will fully comprehend them at that age.

By the age of three to four years old, your child should be able to recognize the majority of simple shapes. Advanced shapes, such as octagons, are usually recognized later.

Shapes Are an Important Part of Early Learning

As your child grows and becomes more independent, they’ll want to learn more about the world around them.

They’ll want to know why the sky is blue, how the planets move, what makes a plant grow, and how animals communicate. If your child is in an early learning setting, they’ll be exposed to a variety of shapes every day.

Learning shapes is an important part of early childhood education. In fact, every preschool curriculum and many kindergarten programs include learning shapes as a standard requirement.

Knowing shapes can have many benefits for your child’s development, and so it’s important for parents to reinforce this knowledge at home.

Why Should Kids Know Shapes

Most of us learn shapes from the time we are very young. You may remember learning shapes in preschool or even before that at home with your family. Learning shapes is one of the basics of early childhood education, but it is very important.

For one thing, knowing shapes helps kids understand the world around them. They can understand how things work and how they’re connected. When we know the shapes around us, we can also learn about basic problem-solving skills.

After all, shapes are used for many things in our daily lives. Learning them can help your child figure out how things work or even assemble objects. Knowing shapes can also help your child improve their memory. If you can remember what each shape looks like or what it represents, you can remember a lot of other things too.

Learning shapes helps your child understand the world around them and remember important things.

what Shapes should A Toddler Know

When it comes to teaching your toddler shapes, you might be unsure where to start. Around the age of two, children begin to observe the shape of objects, but this does not imply that they can recognise fundamental shapes.

With tonnes of engaging games and lessons, you can teach your kids identify fundamental shapes (square, circle, triangle, rectangle) before they start preschool.

Once your child understands fundamental shapes, you may progress to more difficult shapes such as oval, star, heart, and diamond.

Children begin to organise and comprehend the world around them when they start to distinguish shapes and colours at a young age.

Keep in mind that each child is unique. Some children learn their shapes fast, while others learn at an older age. To help your child get more comfortable with shapes while having fun learning, try some of the fun shape activities for toddlers recommended in this article.

How to help your child learn their shapes at home

Learning shapes is something that happens naturally for your child as you go about your day-to-day activities.

However, you can encourage learning shapes at home by reading books, playing games, and engaging in activities that involve shapes. Read books that include shapes.

• There are lots of books available at your local library, in book stores and online that include shapes. You can also find books that range in subject matter and are good for both boys and girls. When reading books with your child, pay attention to the shapes that are included in the illustrations. You can then go on to explain the shapes and how they are used. Play games that include shapes.
• There are a few games that incorporate shapes. For example, one that is popular with both kids and adults is Bingo. Bingo is a fun game that everyone can play together. Other games that include shapes are puzzles and board games. Engage in activities that include shapes.
• You can incorporate shapes into your daily activities. For example, you can have your child sort the laundry or place dishes in the dishwasher. Or you can have them help with meal preparation by chopping vegetables and measuring ingredients.

Tips for Teaching Shapes to Toddlers

Puzzles

Playing with shape puzzles is one of my favourite methods to introduce shapes to toddlers and older kids too (though they can usually work with more complex shapes). While it’s OK for your youngster to play with puzzles on his or her own, make sure you spend time with them and teach them the names of the shapes on a regular basis so they can work on their problem solving skills.

Your toddler will enjoy a variety of interesting shape puzzles and they can play with their puzzles in different ways in real life play too.

See also: 15 Best Sticker Books For Toddlers

Be Repetitive

The importance of repetition cannot be overstated. You must repeat facts to your child multiple times while he or she is learning anything.

It’s critical to repeat information for your toddlers, so state the shape name when they offer you a puzzle shape. Tell your child if you see a shape around the house, such as a rectangle on the dining room table as a great way to be repetitive with young children.

Tracing and Coloring

Tracing and colouring are two of the simplest ways to teach children shapes and they are an important skill too. Allow your toddler to colour some shapes with crayons of different colors.

If you can’t locate any shape colouring books, there are lots of shape printables or you can build your own. Toddlers aren’t fussy when it comes to coloring and practicing their fine motor skills (which are important for writing skills later on).

See also: Best Non Toxic Crayons For Toddlers [Safe For Babies 2022]

Shape Sorting

Shape sorters not only allow your kid to handle and understand the shapes, but they also help them develop problem-solving abilities through play the easy way.

Remove a few of the shapes at initially to prevent your child from being overwhelmed with the various shapes while they learn to use the shape sorter at an early age. You can also use shape sorting toys for teaching colors as well as geometric concepts when your child is ready.

Play Doh

One of my kids favorite ways to play is with play doh. It’s a simple method to keep them active and learning. Give your children some Play-Doh tubs and these shape cutters. Show them a shape and instruct them to cut a square or triangle out of it and don’t forget to name the shape names so they can learn about their new shape.

Other sensory activities such as loose part play and loose rice bins are also a great activity for learning common shapes.

Find Shapes Around You

Shapes are all around us, yet it’s easy for grownups to forget. Look for a variety of shapes around you to help toddlers learn that shapes are a part of their environment while the practice their new skills with a fun shape hunt.

A long cup is a cylinder, a plate is a circle, and a smartphone is a rectangle – it’s easy learning shapes.

Shapes are ubiquitous, and parents must constantly show them out to their children. It teaches your youngster that understanding shapes is one of the most important things.

See also: Top 3 Play Kitchens For Older Kids

Paint

Paint is one of those great tools that help with learning colors and writing shapes in a fun way. Simple activities with paint can help your child learn different types of shapes starting at just 12 months of age.

Cut shapes out of a kitchen sponge, soak it in washable paint, then stamp the shapes onto paper. You can start with one or two sponge stampers and work your way up to more.

Music, Videos and Apps

You can learn about shapes through YouTube music videos and even apps on the tablet.

Games that reinforce basic shape recognition

There are several games that you can play with your child to reinforce basic shape recognition.

• Build a Shape – This game is best played outdoors. First, you’ll need to collect a variety of objects that have a shape. You can use anything, but some examples are pinecones, rocks, leaves, and sticks. Then, you and your child can build a shape using the objects. This is a fun way to engage your child in learning shapes.
• Find the Shape – This is a game that you can play indoors. Simply find various items that include a shape and make sure that they aren’t too small for your child to see. You can use everyday items, like books, cups, or toys.
• Find the Missing Shape – For this game, you’ll need to create a shape with everyday items. A good example would be making a triangle by placing three books on the floor. Once you have created a shape, remove one item. Your child then has to identify which item is missing and why.

Activities that reinforce basic shape recognition

As you engage in activities with your child, try to incorporate shapes whenever possible. Helping your child clean up or do chores around the house is a great way to engage in activities that involve shapes.

Activities that encourage above-and-beyond shape recognition

If your child is struggling with basic shape recognition, you can also try these activities to help them excel in recognizing shapes.

These activities are best done with two or more people, so you can get your child’s friends involved too.

• Shape Hunt – For this game, you’ll need to find various shapes in your everyday surroundings. You can use things like leaves and pinecones outside, or you can use books and other items inside.
• What’s the Shape – For this game, you’ll need to write down a variety of shapes. You can either write the shape itself or name something that has the shape.
• What’s the Pattern? – For this game, you’ll need to create a pattern with shapes. You can use books or anything else around your house. You can also use items from outside, like pinecones or rocks.

FAQ

When Do Kids Learn Shapes Bottom Line

Learning shapes is an important part of early childhood education. In fact, every preschool curriculum and many kindergarten programs include learning shapes as a standard requirement.

Knowing shapes can have many benefits for your child’s development, and so it’s important for parents to help their child learn at home. There are many ways that you can help your child learn their shapes.

You can read books, play games, and engage in activities that involve shapes to reinforce basic shape recognition. You can also try more challenging activities like the shape hunt game to help your child excel in recognizing shapes.

More On toddlers

• 5 Steps To Handle A Toddler Tantrum In Public Like A Pro
• 5 Easy Ways To Calm Down Your High Energy Toddler
• What To Feed A Sick Toddler Who Won’t Eat