As part of the Maths EYFS curriculum, children need to be able to talk about the shapes of everyday objects. They’re encouraged to play with shapes and to spot familiar shapes in their environment. As they become more confident, they may begin to name 2D and 3D shapes and be able to talk about their properties (e.g. number of sides/corners, straight/curved).
This week, we’d like you to talk all about shapes. Here are some ideas of activities that you might like to do together.
- Go on a Shape hunt inside or outside (e.g. clock – circle). Take photos of the different shapes that you find.
- Make a shape picture. What would be a good shape for a… door, wheel or a fish’s tail?
- Find a selection of objects in the house that you could dip in paint to print with. What shape print does it make?
- Push different shaped objects into playdough – what shape print does it leave? Are there straight lines or curved lines? Are there some lines that are long/short?
- Collect some objects you can find in your house that are 3D shapes, e.g. cereal packet, crisp tubes, boxes of tea, oranges and DVDs. Sort them out into groups of the same shapes. How many objects do you have with corners? How many round objects do you have? How many have curved edges or sides?
- Take part in a shape scavenger hunt. See if you can find: 5 round objects, 4 tall objects, 3 objects with straight sides and 2 objects with more than 4 sides. Take a picture of what you find.
You can watch Mr Maker’s shape video and a song all about shapes.
You may have lots of other ideas too! Please make notes of the vocabulary that your child uses to talk about and describe the shapes that you find and let us know. It’s really useful information that helps us to plan next steps for your child’s learning.