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Stars: Learning Activities for Shapes

Are you ready to have fun with stars? Take your child out late one evening and lay in the grass or on a blanket and watch the stars. If you live in the city you may have to drive away from the bright lights before you can see them. Enjoy playing with stars, eating stars and doing crafts with them. Please come back and share comments of the fun things you have done.

Content:

Toys
Craft:
Popsicle/Craft Stick Star
Snacks
Story Time
Related Posts

Toys

What star shaped toys do you have? Maybe a shape sorter with a star in it? How about a special pillow you sleep with at night? When I was little I had a star shaped police officer’s badge. I used the Lauri Toys Shape and Color Sorter in my preschool classroom. It has a star shape and the children really enjoyed it. Please leave a comment and let me know what star shaped toys you have at your house.

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Craft

Popsicle/Craft Stick Star

Materials Needed:

Popsicle/Craft sticks
Glue
Paint
Paint brush or foam brush
Paper to protect workspace

Instructions:

1. I covered my workspace with parchment paper because I bought it for $1 at the Dollar Tree. You can cover your space with whatever you have.

2. Since I wanted to use multiple colors I painted my sticks before I put them together.

3. After the paint dried, glue the sticks together in the shape of a star.

4. I’m going to use a ribbon to hang the star in my window.

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Foods for snack or meal time

Star fruit, chicken and star soup, occasionally around Christmas you can find star shaped pretzels or crackers, use a star shaped cookie cutter to cut vegetables, cheese and bread

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Story Time

I See Stars (All about Shapes) by D. H. Dilkes
Reading Level: Birth – 5 yrs old
D. H. Dilkes has a great series of little books that discuss different shapes. In this book you will find many different stars. I like the fact that the illustrations are photographs of everyday items. The text rhymes and is simple which is great for a young child that is just being introduced to shapes.

Laura’s Star by Klaus Baumgart
Reading Level: Ages 4 and up
An adorable book about a little girl and a falling star. Laura was looking for a special friend to tell her secrets to and found it in a most unusual place. The sparkling little star adds so much to the story and the illustrations.

Stars by Mary Lyn Ray and Marla Frazee
Reading Level: Ages 3 and up
A beautiful story to go along with teaching the star shape. The children in the book go on all types of adventures with stars. They see them in the sky and they make some and put them in their pockets. I like how the author encourages a child’s imagination such as saying stars look like silver eggs you could put in a basket. The illustration shows a little girl holding a basket up in the air as if she was gathering the stars. Be sure to take your child along on this wonderful adventure with stars. They will learn that sometimes they might even feel as shiny as a star.

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When I taught preschool, I taught about shapes after my unit on colors. Now that I think back I emphasized colors before shapes with my own children at home too. Children seem to recognize colors before they do shapes so I just went along with their natural curiosities.

As I stated in my overview post on Colors, my children’s first introduction to shapes was not in a formal setting. It was done during everyday activities, like dressing or playing with their toys. Constantly talking to your children helps them to learn. I would say things like, “Look at those colorful stars on your socks”, or “Doesn’t this strawberry look like a heart.” It doesn’t matter if your child is a few days old or three years old, continually talk to them and explain to them what they are seeing. Their understanding of the world around them and their knowledge with grow faster than you can imagine.

Most of your child’s learning should come through play and conversation with you. Read books, do crafts, get down on the floor and play with your child and talk about the things you are playing with.

You will find book suggestions, craft ideas and even snack suggestions that have to do with shapes in the following posts. Use them all at once or break them up and use them over several days. Just have fun with your child and the learning will follow.