Love to Laugh and Learn

Fun and interesting learning activities to do with the children in your life

Teaching Shapes to Preschoolers: An Overview of Fun Learning Activities

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When I taught preschool, I always introduced colors before shapes. I did the same thing at home with my own children. Looking back, it makes sense. Children seem to notice colors first. So, I followed their natural curiosity and used it as a guide.

Just like with colors, our first lessons on shapes weren’t formal. My kids learned about them during everyday routines—like getting dressed or playing with toys. I made a habit of talking to them throughout the day. Throughout our routine, I would point out circles, hearts, or stars and describe what we saw together. Sometimes I’d say, “Look at those colorful stars on your socks,” or “This strawberry looks like a heart!”

Whether your child is just a few days old or a curious three-year-old, talking to them consistently helps. It builds vocabulary, observation skills, and a strong foundation for future learning. Their understanding of the world will grow faster than you expect—especially when it’s grounded in love, play, and shared discovery.

Learning Through Play

Most early learning should come through play and conversation. Read books together, do simple crafts, play on the floor, and talk about what you’re doing. These small moments are powerful teaching tools.

In the posts below, you’ll find shape-themed book recommendations, craft ideas, fun snacks, and hands-on activities that introduce common forms in playful ways. You can explore one shape a day, mix and match, or follow the full series—it’s completely up to you. Just remember: the most important thing is to have fun. When children are having fun, they’re learning!

 

Related Posts

The Lessons – Overview
Circles: Learning Activities for Shapes
Ovals: Learning Activities for Shapes
Squares: Learning Activities for Shapes
Rectangles: Learning Activities for Shapes
Triangles: Learning Activities for Shapes
Diamonds: Learning Activities for Shapes
Stars: Learning Activities for Shapes
Hearts: Learning Activities for Shapes
Learning Should Be Fun
Colors – Overview

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Stars: Learning Activities for Shapes

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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

Have fun with stars by making this popsicle/craft craft.
Have fun with stars by making this popsicle/craft craft.

Popsicle/Craft Stick Star

Materials Needed:

Materials for Popsicle/ Craft Stick Star
Materials for Popsicle/ Craft Stick Star

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.

Painted sticks for star.
Painted sticks for star.

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.

Have fun with stars by making this popsicle/craft craft.
Have fun with stars by making this popsicle/craft craft.

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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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Related Posts

Shapes – Overview
The Lessons – Overview
Circles: Learning Activities for Shapes
Ovals: Learning Activities for Shapes
Squares: Learning Activities for Shapes
Rectangles: Learning Activities for Shapes
Triangles: Learning Activities for Shapes
Diamonds: Learning Activities for Shapes
Hearts: Learning Activities for Shapes
Learning Should Be Fun
When Do Children Start Learning
Colors – Overview

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Diamonds: Learning Activities for Shapes

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Diamonds: Learning Activities for Shapes
with free printables




 

Time for fun with diamonds. What is the first thing you think of when someone talks about a diamond? My first thing is a kite. The second thing I think of is the song, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Below are listed some fun things to do with diamonds. Have fun and please come back and share the different activities you have tried and how you liked them.


Content:

Toys
Crafts:
Kite Picture
Flower Made from Diamond Shapes
Snacks
Story Time
Related Posts

Toys

You may have a shape sorter with a diamond shape in it. I would recommend the Discovery Toys: Playful Patterns (just use the diamond shapes today). Also try a Hape Geo Form S – Diamond Shaped Puzzles or kite. Please stop by and share what type of diamond shape toys you have.

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Crafts

Diamond Flower Craft


Kite Picture

Material for Diamond Kite Craft

Materials Needed:

Diamond Kite Template
Construction paper or paint, markers, crayons
String or yarn
Stickers
Scissors
Glue

Instructions:

1. Print Diamond Kite Template

2. You can either color or paint the kite on the template or use the template as a pattern to cut the kite out of construction paper. For this craft, I decided to cut the kite out of construction paper and glue it to another piece of construction paper.

3. Glue a piece of string or yarn to the bottom of the kite and have it run all the way to the bottom of the page so it looks like the kite is flying high in the sky.

4. Add stickers to the kite for extra decoration. Stickers are great for young children to exercise their fine motor skills as they peel and stick them to the paper.

Have fun learning about diamonds with this Diamond Shaped Kite Craft

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Diamond Flower

Materials Needed:

Material Needed for the Diamond Flower Craft

Diamond Flower Template
Construction or tissue paper
Scissors
Glue
Green marker

Instructions:

1. Print Diamond Flower Template

2. Cut 2 diamonds out of green paper.

3. Cut the rest of the diamonds out of whatever color you want your flower to be.
You can cut out as many diamonds as you want.

4. Glue the diamond petals in a flower shape with their points touching in the center of the flower.

5. Draw a green stem on the flower.

6. Glue the 2 green diamond shaped leaves to the stem.

Now you have a beautiful diamond flower to remind you of spring or to give to mom or grandma for Mother’s Day.

Have fun making this beautiful Diamond Flower Craft

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Foods for snack or meal time

I searched the web and couldn’t find any diamond shaped foods but you can always use a diamond shaped cookie cutter to cut vegetables, fruits, cheese, etc. You could also use triangle shaped foods and show your child how to put them together to create a diamond.

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Story Time

Much to my disappointment, I have not been able to find any books that are only about diamonds. I have found some books that discuss several different shapes and diamonds are included so I am listing those books. If you know of any books that are just about diamonds, please let me know.

Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert
Reading Level: Ages 4 and up
There isn’t much of a story. Actually it’s just a poem on the first page of the book but seeing how the different animals are made with the shapes is very interesting. The pictures are very bright and inviting to a child. The shapes that are covered are circle, square, triangle, rectangle, star, heart, oval, diamond, octagon and hexagon.

Museum Shapes by The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Reading Level: Kindergarten – 3rd Grade
This is a very interesting way to introduce your child to shapes and to the art world. Your child is introduced to different shapes and asked to locate the shapes in famous pieces of art work. A fun way to teach your child to look for shapes in items they run across every day such as wheels, on clothing or in a painting. Not only is this a good book for teaching shapes but it would be good to read before heading out for an afternoon at the art museum. There are reference pages at the end of the book that provide information on each of the pieces of art that are represented in the book. The shapes that are covered are circle, square, triangle, rectangle, star, heart, oval, diamond, crescent and arch.

Shape by Shape by Suse MacDonald
Reading Level: Ages 2 to 5
This book does not actually teach shapes but it is a good review and a fun mystery. The book starts out with two black circles in the middle of the page and it asks, “Do you know what I am?” As you progress page by page you find different shapes cut out of the pages with different hints. By the time you reach the end of the book you find, created over a three page spread, the answer to the original question. You will need to get this book to share with your child. It is quite fun to see what the shapes create at the end of the book. The shapes that are covered are circle, triangle, oval, diamond, crescent and semi-circle.

When a Line Bends . . . A Shape Begins by Rhonda Gowler Greene
Reading Level: Preschool to 2nd Grade
The book starts out by describing different types of lines and then it discusses the different shapes that can be made when a line bends. The book is written in rhyme and gives many, many examples for each shape. There are fun multi-colored pictures to go with each example. Your child will have fun looking for the different shapes that are described in the text. The shapes that are covered are circle, square, triangle, rectangle, star, heart, oval, diamond, crescent and octagon.

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Related Posts

Shapes – Overview
The Lessons – Overview
Circles: Learning Activities for Shapes
Ovals: Learning Activities for Shapes
Squares: Learning Activities for Shapes
Rectangles: Learning Activities for Shapes
Triangles: Learning Activities for Shapes
Stars: Learning Activities for Shapes
Hearts: Learning Activities for Shapes
Learning Should Be Fun
Colors – Overview
When Do Children Start Learning

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Triangles: Learning Activities for Shapes

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Triangles: Learning Activities for Shapes




It’s time for some fun learning activities with triangles. What type of triangles do you see around you? Maybe mom or dad cut your toast into triangles this morning. Do you have any toys that are triangle shaped? Take a walk down the street and count how many triangles you see. Do some of the roofs on the houses form a triangle shape? Have lots of fun with triangles today. Please stop by my facebook page, Love to Laugh and Learn, and share pictures of the triangle you see and create.

Content:

Toys
Craft:
Triangle Fish Craft
Snacks
Story Time
Related Posts

Toys

Trying to think of triangle shaped toys is a little hard. Maybe you can help me out. What type of triangle shaped toys do you have around your house? Please leave a comment and help me out.

You may have a shape sorter with a triangle shape in it. I would recommend the Discovery Toys: Playful Patterns (just use the triangle shapes today). There is a game called Tri*ominos that uses triangle shaped pieces. The “home bases” on Chinese checkers are triangle shaped. If you are into music you can play with a musical triangle today. I look forward to any suggestions you have.

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Craft

Create a cute fish while learning about triangles.
Create a cute fish while learning about triangles.

Triangle Fish Craft
Adapted from DLTK Crafts for Kids

Materials Needed:

Materials for Triangle Fish Craft
Materials for Triangle Fish Craft

Triangle Fish Template
Colored paper, crayons, markers or paints
Scissors
Glue Stick
White Glue
Wiggly Eyes

Instructions:

1. Print Triangle Fish Template
2. You can either use the template as a pattern to cut the triangles out of colored paper or have your child color or paint the pieces and then cut them out.
3. Use glue stick to glue the middle size triangle to the back of the large triangle for the tail.
4. Use glue stick to glue the small triangle to the big triangle as the fin.
5. Use white glue to glue on a wiggly eye (I love wiggly eyes) or draw an eye.
6. Draw a mouth.

Now you have a beautiful triangle fish!

Triangle Fish Craft
Triangle Fish Craft

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Foods for snack or meal time

A sandwich cut from corner to corner, some tortilla chips are triangle shaped, cut watermelon into triangle shapes, cut cheese in triangle shapes, Triscuit Thin Crisps

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Story Time

I See Triangles (All about Shapes) by D. H. Dilkes
Reading Level: Birth – 4 yrs old
D. H. Dilkes has a great series of little books that discuss different shapes. In this book you will learn about triangles. I like the fact that the illustrations are photographs of everyday items. The text is simple which is great for a young child that is just being introduced to shapes.

Triangles (Shapes) by Marybeth Lorbiecki
Reading Level: Birth – 4yrs old
A cute introduction to triangles. The rhyming storyline leads you through bright illustrations of a kitten and puppy as they explore triangles. They encourage your child to search out, count and have fun with triangles.

Triangles (The Shape of the World) by Dana Meachen Rau
Reading Level: Birth – 4 yrs old
Dana Meachen Rau has a great series of little books about shapes. In this book you will see several different triangles. You might find some right in your own house. The simple text and bright pictures will give you and your child a lot to talk about. This is a great little book for introducing triangles to your child.

What Is a Triangle? (Harper Growing Tree) by Rebecca Kai Dotlich
Reading Level: Birth – 4 yrs old
You will find many different triangle shapes throughout this book. It is an easy read for young children with a lot of bright pictures. A few of the items are actually cones rather than triangles but I guess if you are just introducing your child to triangles that won’t really matter a lot. It’s written in rhyme, which I always love. The funniest part to me was that is says a triangle (the musical instrument) is a triangle.

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Related Posts

Shapes – Overview
The Lessons – Overview
Circles: Learning Activities for Shapes
Ovals: Learning Activities for Shapes
Squares: Learning Activities for Shapes
Rectangles: Learning Activities for Shapes
Diamonds: Learning Activities for Shapes
Stars: Learning Activities for Shapes
Hearts: Learning Activities for Shapes
Learning Should Be Fun
Colors – Overview

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Rectangles: Learning Activities for Shapes

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Rectangles: Learning Activities for Shapes
with Free Printable





 

Time to have fun with rectangles. You can find rectangles all around you…look at the front door of your house and possibly the windows are rectangles too. Did you know if you put two squares side by side that they will make a rectangle? Try it and see. Have fun with the different crafts, snacks and stories that help you learn more about rectangles.

Content:

Toys
Craft:
Red Rectangle Robot
Snacks
Story Time
Related Posts

Toys

Here are a few suggestions of toys that might be around your house that are rectangle shaped:
Train track pieces, books, some puzzles are rectangle shaped, pictures in your family photo album, deck of cards, Playful Patterns by Discovery Toys (just use the rectangle shapes for play today)
Leave a comment and tell me what else you found.

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Craft

Have fun learning about rectangles with this Red Rectangle Robot.
Have fun learning about rectangles with this Red Rectangle Robot.

Red Rectangle Robot

Materials for Red Rectangle Robot Craft
Materials for Red Rectangle Robot Craft

Materials Needed:

Red Rectangle Robot pattern
Red construction paper or red crayons, markers or paint
Scissors
Glue
Wiggly Eyes
Marker or crayons to draw face

Instructions:

Red Rectangle Robot Pieces
Red Rectangle Robot Pieces

1) Print the Red Rectangle Robot Pattern
2) Either color, paint or use the pieces as a pattern to cut out of red construction paper.
3) If you color or paint the pieces, then cut them out.
4) Now assemble your robot with glue.
5) Add wiggly eyes and draw on mouth and nose.
Now you have a wonderful red rectangle robot.

This craft would also be good when working with the color red or the letter “R”.

Red Rectangle Robot
Red Rectangle Robot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Another fun way to create this robot would be out of cardboard. I got this idea from Ambrosia Creative. Use my printable and then follow the directions found on Ambrosia Creative. I would suggest adding a tab to the rectangle head to aide in it’s movement and the way it attaches to the body. You will understand what I’m talking about when you look at her directions. Have fun with this additional way to create a rectangle robot. Click on the picture below to head over to her blog.

Learning Activities for Shapes: Cardboard Robot
Learning Activities for Shapes: Cardboard Robot

Foods for snack or meal time

A sandwich cut in half, graham crackers, club crackers, granola bars, cheese or lunch meat cut into rectangular shapes

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Story Time

I See Rectangles (All about Shapes) by D.H. Dilkes
Reading Level: Birth to 4 yrs old
D. H. Dilkes has a great series of little books that discuss different shapes. In this book you will find rectangles all around school. Your child will encounter several items that they will see around school. The text is simple which is great for a young child that is just being introduced to shapes.

Rectangles: The Shape of the World (Bookworms) by Dana Meachen Rau
Reading Level: Birth – 4 yrs old
Dana Meachen Rau has a great series of little books about shapes. In this book you will see several different rectangles. You might find some right in your own house. The simple text and bright pictures will give you and your child a lot to talk about. This is a great little book for introducing rectangles to your child.

Rectangles (Shapes) by Pamela Hall
Reading Level: Birth – 5 yrs. Old
A cute introduction to rectangles. The rhyming storyline leads you through bright illustrations of a kitten and her puppy. They encounter rectangles all around the town. There are many rectangles on each page to be observed, counted and enjoyed.

Rectangles around Town (Shapes Around Town) by Nathan Olson
Reading Level: Ages 4 and up
You will definitely see lots of rectangles all around town. There are so many to find on each page. You will find great illustrations of rectangles. The book even talks about the differences between rectangles and squares. Your child can practice counting how many rectangles they can find on one page.

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Related Posts

Shapes – Overview
The Lessons – Overview
Circles: Learning Activities for Shapes
Ovals: Learning Activities for Shapes
Squares: Learning Activities for Shapes
Triangles: Learning Activities for Shapes
Diamonds: Learning Activities for Shapes
Stars: Learning Activities for Shapes
Hearts: Learning Activities for Shapes
Learning Should Be Fun
Colors – Overview

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