5 Fun and Engaging Shape Activities for Kindergarten

December 6, 2021

Geometry and Shapes for Kindergarten

Geometry can be a fun unit because it requires a lot of hands-on activities which are perfect for primary grades! Teaching 2D and 3D shapes in kindergarten can be fun and engaging. Students can sort shapes by attributes, they can find shapes in the real world, identify vertices, positional words, the list goes on! I find that my students love geometry because it’s so interactive for students. They have that concrete example that makes geometry so accessible.

So in this post, I am going to share with you 5 fun and engaging shape activities for kindergarten.

Activities with Shapes for Kindergarten

The more engaging you can make shapes for students, the easier it is for them to make connections with the shapes and see them in the real world. Below are examples of games and shape activities that you can use to get them moving and interact with shapes all around them.

Real World Hunt for Shape Activities

Going on a walk outside (or in the building) is a great way to get students up and interact with shapes in their environment. I like to give students cut-out shapes and have the students carry them around as we walk around. This helps them remember shape names and compare them with a concrete example, vs. trying to remember what the shape looks like from memory.

When they find a shape, they have to raise their hand and point out the shape that they see. I take a picture of it and the student who found it. I bring them back to the room where they can share the shapes real-world that they found.

Then, after the students leave for the day, I print out the pictures of the students with the shape that they found. The next day I show the pictures and the students guess the shape that the student found. I write down their shapes on chart paper. Then at the end of the lesson, we add up all of the shapes that were found (4 squares, 3 circles, etc.). Finally, we compare the shapes and what shape we had the most of and the shape that we had the least of. This is a fun shape activity for your students to try.

Geo Boards for Geometry Activities

Geo Boards are another fun shape activity that is fun for kids to use to make shapes. The first thing you need to do is to make sure that you set rules for using the Geo Boards (for example, how to use the rubber bands, and how to make the shapes themselves).

I like to give my students cards in many different ways. The first way is the shape itself (i.e. a triangle), I also have real-world pictures on cards (i.e., a stop sign). Finally, I have cards with several shapes on them to make an object (for example a triangle, rectangle, and a half-circle to make up a boat).

These are perfect not only for small math groups but also for math game stations. Students love engaging with geoboards and when they are taught to use them correctly, they are fantastic.

Pop-It’s for Shape Activities

Pop-it’s are all the rage right now. Why not use it to our advantage during math stations and have another shape activity?

You can have students pop shapes onto the pop it. You can also have cards that give clues to your students about the shape that they need to create (for example, a 3 sided shape). The students see the clue and then make the shape on the pop-its.

You can also show students cards with many shapes on them and ask them to find out how many vertices are on the card (for example, a card has a square and a triangle. They pop the number of vertices each shape has and then add it up).

Math Mats for Geometry Activities

Math mats are so easy to use for math stations. They are shape activities that are low prep, (and I am all about low prep anything) and engaging for students. There are so many games and shape activities in a math mat pack that can keep your students engaged at stations. They usually involved using a spinner or rolling dice to complete the activity. I love printing mine off on colored paper and sticking it into a station. They don’t involve a lot of explanation and are very easy for students to use. I created a pack for 2D and 3D shapes that practice skills such as identifying vertices, comparing 3D and 2D objects as well as real-life object comparison, and positional words are even included in this pack. Check out this link to try it out!

Scoot Shape Activites

Finally, when it comes to reviewing flat and solid shapes, I love playing scoot with my kids! I usually do this shape activity as a whole group. It’s really simple to make and, it gets your kids up and walking around the room. Let’s face it, these kids need to move as much as possible! 🙂

When start off teaching them how to do scoot, I have cards with one question each on them that pertain to our geometry unit. For example, one card may have shapes and they have to figure out how many vertices there are. Another card may be asking what real-world shape the picture is. There is also a recording sheet for the students to write down their answers.

There are usually anywhere from 10-20 cards around the room. I keep 3 or so cards for myself. The kids start by sitting on the carpet with the recording sheet in their hands. I show them one of the cards I kept for myself. Then I show them how to match the box on their recording sheet with the card in my hand. We go over how to answer the question and where to write the answer on the recording sheet.

I do this a few more times, just to make sure the students have the concept. Then, I show them how to walk around the room and focus on their paper. Once the students that when they are done writing all of the answers, they can go back to their seats. Students can color on the back of their sheet until the timer goes off.

I then release my students to find the answers, and I walk around helping students find certain cards, or assist those who might need help answering a question. Once the timer goes off, I have the students come to the carpet and we go over each card.

Now, to keep my students engaged, I tell them to put a smiley face on their box if they got it right. If they didn’t get the answer right, I have them write the correct answer. This is a perfect engaging way to review geometry shapes with my students.

Fun With Shapes Activities

Geometry can be a fun unit because it requires a lot of hands-on activities which are perfect for primary grades! Teaching 2D and 3D shapes in kindergarten can be fun and engaging. Students can sort shapes by attributes, they can find shapes in the real world, identify vertices, positional words, the list goes on! I find that my students love geometry because it’s so interactive for students and they have that concrete example that makes geometry so accessible.

The more engaging you can make shape activities for students the easier it is for them to make connections with the shapes and see them in the real world. A real-world scavenger hunt is a perfect way to get students to see shapes in their world. Geoboards are great for making shapes, and great math stations. Pop-it’s are great for making shapes and for adding up vertices on a card. Math Mats are perfect for print and go engaging activities. Finally, Scoot is a great whole group activity that gets students up and moving around the room.

Comment below with any of your favorite shape activities that you like to use with your 2D and 3D shapes unit.