An Introduction to Shapes

As the seasons change I admit that I become a little antsy & take on spring cleaning projects - one of which involves rearranging the living room & the bedrooms. As I stand in the middle of the room, I make note of the shape of the room I am about to rearrange. Whether we are conscious of it or not, we work with shapes daily: rearranging furniture, planting a garden, even cleaning out the refrigerator!

Children are learning and absorbing their environment every minute of every day. One of the skills that we may take for granted is the ability to identify shapes. The other night Tom called me into the living room to listen to our daughter Josie correctly identify an “orange heart”. We have heard her name shapes & correctly identify colors, but we were such proud parents listening to her correctly identify & name this orange heart!

Young children have an inborn ability to understand shapes. Infants & young children can see & feel the difference between various shapes, and are able to recognize differences between shapes such as a circle & a triangle. However, children need guidance when it comes to being able to identify & name shapes.

Sit down with a magazine, book or newspaper. Find an article or section of the book to read, & then read over it quickly. Did you notice that you were recognizing the letters by their shape? As children learn to read they do just that - learn to recognize words by their shapes (some words are curvy, straight, round, etc…).

When reading various articles on early childhood development you can’t help but run across the phrase, “… children learn through play …” When learning about shapes it is no different. The next time you are at the park with your child talk about the shapes that you see around you: rocks, clouds, play equipment, and toys. Talk & show your child how round objects roll, flat objects don’t, & pointy objects hurt. Children are interested in cause & effect & learn about shapes through playing with them & talking about them. Older children can learn about shapes through fun games & puzzles like: Tetris, and mosaic tile puzzles.

As children expand their minds about shapes they eventually will apply these ideas about shapes when they take classes like geometry, physics, and calculus later on in school. No matter what we end up doing for a living as adults, we are surrounded by shapes and work with them daily.

Check out Parent Provider Partnerships, Shapes Authors: Jandy Jeppson with Judith A. Myers-Walls, PhD, CFLE for more information & activities on learning about shapes.