This week I want to see how my kindergartners are doing on their shapes. Here are some of the activities that we did this week:
One day
I started the class reading a shape book, “A Perfect Square” by Michael Hall.
After I read this book, they went on a scavenger hunt in the classroom finding basic shapes. For example, I would say “Go find a triangle.” They returned to our circle and each shared and described their triangle. We would pay special attention to describing it, not only the number of sides and corners (vertices) but also it’s color and size.
This took the whole class time. So I had each child look for a shape on their clothing and they described it and then they went out for recess.
Next Day
At the beginning of class time, I read the book “The Greedy Triangle” by Marilyn Burns.
We created a chart describing each shape and the number of corners and sides. Then I handed out a piece of blank paper, showed them how to fold it into a 2 x 2 grid and they practiced drawing circles, triangles, squares, and free choice into each of the squares on the paper. I would later use these papers and ask “How many squares did you draw?” for an opportunity to assess their counting skills.
We then gathered for circle time at the end and again asked each child to describe a shape they see on their clothes. Recess time!
The next couple of days we will explore patterns! Stay tuned for the next blog post. Click here to see Day 1 of Kindergarten Math.
