Do you remember playing with magnetic or wooden shapes when you were little? I had a set of wooden shapes in different sizes and colours which could be used to make all sorts of pictures and patterns. This is my DIY version, which I made for my class recently as we've been learning about shapes. I started with seven or eight sheets of colourful paper and being very lazy, I cut the shapes out mainly freehand and holding the whole bundle together at the same time! The only shape I didn't cut freehand was the circle as I find I can never get a perfect circle, they just get smaller and smaller as I keep cutting, trying to make them perfect. This pack of paper was from Lidl for £2. What a bargain! After cutting the shapes I laminated them. I have a little laminator at home for doing school bit and pieces (supermarkets sell them for around £10). Then I made up some ideas cards by creating pictures with the shapes and taking photographs of them. When the children at school make their own pictures and designs, I'll take photographs of them too and increase the box of ideas cards. Shapes are great for all sorts of learning including.... Colour and shape recognition Sorting for size, colour, shape Making patterns Making repeating patterns Creating pictures and art You can also discuss properties of shapes such as whether they have curved or straight lines, number of sides, corners etc... Here are some of the other picture card ideas I made. Repeating patterns Create pictures Create art!

Chicago-based artist Bruce Riley uses resin and paint to create vibrant, abstract shapes that blossom organically across large-scale panels. Pools of

Download free printables for the classroom here

Free printable I spy shapes activity to help kids identify and match shapes such as square, circle, diamond, rectangle, polygon, pentagon, & star.

It’s my first day of school! I love this time of year, all fresh starts and possiblities! Team builder games are one of my favorite things to do in the classroom during the first few weeks …

Measurement and time are usually short lived in my room! That is unfortunate, but it is true. We spend a LOT of time on number sense, addition, subtraction, and place value that I feel like these three first grade standards get short-changed: 1. Nonstandard measurement and comparing/ordering of lengths 2. Telling Time to the half […]

These crystal stars made from pipe cleaners and a simple borax solution are SO COOL. And they're really easy to make! Leave them overnight and crystals magically form! Borax Crystal Star Ornaments OK you guys, I think I've fallen in love with another kids activity. These borax ornaments are so easy to make, and they look SO COOL when they're done! It takes a few hours to grow the crystals, but the actual work involved with putting them together is really fast. We whipped up our crystal stars in about half an hour before we left to visit my inlaws

I hate it when I have a day off and I can't sleep in. My body is just to used to getting up at 5:00 AM. So here I am blogging and blog stalking when I wish I could be sleeping. Maybe I can't sleep because I'm excited about my new packet. I think it's pretty cool. We've been working on Shapes for the past few weeks and I put together a packet of some of the things we did. This is a great activity for analyzing and composing shapes. My kids LOVE! This is a fun game where the kiddos get to use the skills they discovered on the Cover the Shape mat above. I LOVE this book and was sad to find out that it is out of print. But you can find it on some of the used book sites. I read the book and then my firsties used their imaginations and came up with some cute pages for our class book. This is a picture of our class sort with 3D shapes. I'm using this next week in Math Stations with a 4-In-A-Row game. The packet is 31 pages of fun with over 50 pictures of 2D and 3D shapes. You can find the packet at my shops. Just click on the words below for a link. TpT or Teacher Notebook Oh and if you haven't heard, there are BIG sales this weekend on both sites. THANK YOU! At this Thanksgiving time I'm so thankful for the opportunity to be a teacher and work with my little ones. Some days it is VERY hard and I wonder if I'm doing any good. But then one of them gives me a big smile or a high five or a hug and then I know I might have taught them something today. I'm so grateful for this blogging community of wonderful teachers who inspire me to step it up and do a little more. I love the ideas everyone shares and the willingness to collaborate. It makes teaching much easier when I know I'm not in it alone. FREEBIE! Here's a little freebie to say THANKS for following me! It's from my shape packet above. Click HERE to download these 2 pages. GIVEAWAY! Also, as a BIG THANK YOU I'm going to give away my new shape packet to 3 of you. All you have to do to qualify for the giveaway is COMMENT here on this post before MIDNIGHT TONIGHT (Utah time). I will select 3 winners at random and send you the packet so make sure you leave an email address. Winners were Kim, Tina, and Mrs. Brinn. Thanks everyone for your great comments! I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with family, friends, and lots of love.

Turn broken toothpicks into a star with this toothpick trick. Learn how wood can move all by itself without being touched in this fun science experiment.

This brilliant resource is a wonderful way to reinforce French weather vocabularly. Children will find the bright and colourful illustrations engaging.

Shapes and playdough seem like such a great combination, right? Playing with something fun like playdough all while learning about shapes! I knew it was a winning combination and thus, the shape playdough mats were created! They're great for open-ended play or more directed learning. There are so many great ways to learn about and work

Rhyming sorting game for preschoolers with free printable cards.

What's your name? Fitness activity printable for kids. Your kids will get a workout without realizing it when you make fitness into a fun game with this spell your name workout.

I'm a literacy lover...getting my Masters of Education in Reading makes that pretty evident. So, when it comes to teaching math in the classroom I often felt like I was doing a terrible job. My brain does not go the math route. And trying to convince my learners that math was amazing got a little

Print these free games to help your child master shape identification!

Sharing a super simple idea today: DIY touch and feel shapes! This is perfect to make for young children that are learning about shapes, involving their sense of touch in the learning process. (See these Touch

Teaching your preschooler about shapes? Try this fun, hands-on geometry activity by building shapes with playdoh!

Like colors and fonts, the shapes used in an infographic affect the message that is conveyed to an audience. Shapes leave an impression that, if done correctly, will stick with the audience…

Here’s a simple open-ended building activity for kids of all ages – Colored craft sticks, wooden cubes, and small plastic cups! Simple materials, and yet

There is no doubt that children learn better through play. They are able to retain more information, and hey, it’s pretty fun to boot! Gamifcation is certainly the future of…

MUST TRY spinning Christmas trees expeirment is super cool and EASY! This holiday science project is perfect STEM idea for December.

Pretty woven star decorations.

Happy Saturday! I know this is going to sound cliche and all, but seriously….where did the summer go?! August is only a couple of days away and most of my teacher friends are starting school either this coming week or the next. Oh summer…we loved you so!!!! Now it’s upward and onward and we’re getting …

A twist on the typical color-by-number, this color-by-shape choo-choo activity is sure to be a blast!

Learn drawing skills to turn a circle into a sphere with this free mini online course on shape and form. All you need is pencil, paper, & about 30 minutes!

If describing 3D shapes in kindergarteners in accordance with textbooks, in general, can certainly make it difficult for children to understand them because 3D shapes are still very new to learn even though they already know the shape of the objects around them.

Money is now a thing of the past and geometry is where it’s at in room 102! We have been identifying 2D shapes and their characteristics, while also getting familiar with these shapes by PLAYING! I mean… “composing” new shapes with pattern blocks and geoboards! I love geometry because it is all hands-on […]

Hi everyone! It is Teresa here from Fun Games 4 Learning . I'm excited to be back here blogging on Who's Who and Who's New! Many of you w...

Hmmm... I'm almost so late to the Five for Friday linky that I should perhaps just wait until the next one! But since I have a spare moment or two I wanted to share some of the fun we've had in the past week or so. :) 1. We've been learning all about 2D shapes in Maths! We counted and graphed with this Piggy Shape Graph (a freebie from Kinderglynn!). Then we cooked up a storm by making Shape Pizzas. I know, I know... the base should not be white. But we flat ran out of time to paint them a more pizza-y looking colour! 2. Here's a super quick round-up of the Literacy activities that have been keeping us busy: Our focus book was 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar', so we worked on some fine motor skills by hole punching a leaf to make it looked like it was nibbled... ...by our paper chain caterpillars! This guy needs his antennas put on! :) We played ABC Ninja - works on letter recognition in the same style as the Fruit Ninja game. Lots of fun! We searched for pictures in shredded paper to sort into the pocket chart. This week the pictures revised short vowel sounds. Shredded paper is a free and fun sensory element! We continued to use Spring into Phoneme Segmentation to practise sorting words by the number of sounds they have. This activity is super cute sorted into little flowerpots, but I like to have it laid out like this so that while they are waiting for their turn kidlets can be looking over the pictures and thinking about why they were sorted the way they have been. Another free and fun activity - sight word painting! All you need is a paint brush, some water and a patch of concrete. :) I just love this photo. One of my kidlets independently reading a big book that we had previously used as a shared text. He was so pleased with himself when he got to the end! Nothing like success to motivate readers. 3. Our painting last week had a few extra sensory surprises! Sand in the finger paint... ...and scented colours to paint ice-creams! We added vanilla, peppermint and coconut essences to the paint. Our phonics focus was long i, so we let them free paint an ice-cream and enjoy the yummy smell. Although, one kidlet thought that the paint smelled more like an ice-cream that had been left out in the sun than a tasty treat! How rude. :) 4. Snakes alive! One of my treasures found this snakeskin in her backyard and brought it in for Show & Tell. It was about 2m long so was not too big. The kidlets loved it, me not so much! 5. Holidays on the horizon: Two more weeks and I will be in Canada with my lovebird! Have a great week everyone! I promise not to be so late with my next Five for Friday. :) Lauren

Over the summer holidays, I've joined together with a group of bloggers to bring you weekly craft and play ideas using simple supplies from around the home or garden. We're starting with sticks (either sticks

Mindful Math Curriculum is a comprehensive, guided math program that includes simple to prep materials, tons of activities, math centers, math games, differentiated worksheets, & whole group lessons for kindergarten, first grade, and second grade.

Out in the suburbs of Copenhagen are two amazing churches - Bagsvaerd Church and Grundtvig's Church. We caught the train out, stopping at Grundtvig's church first. Built in the 1920s and set amongst residential homes, the church has a striking exterior, resembling a church organ. But the real beauty is the inside, with simple yet stunning brickwork creating one of the most striking spaces I have been in. The scale, light and mix of textures made for an incredible space to be in. We then travelled further out to see Bagsvaered Church, designed by one of Denmark's most famous architects, Jorn Utzon - also famed for designing the Sydney Opera House. In comparison to Grundtvig's church, Bagsvaerd is quite modern, having being built in 1976, however still very minimal. The most striking feature was the undulating ceiling, which allowed a beautiful stream of natural light in to illuminate the space. After spending time here, it had me wondering what it would be like to be part of the congregation meeting every week and using the space, and what a beautiful experience that could be. Travelling through Europe, there are many cathedrals that can, at times, feel a bit same-y after visiting a few. It was so refreshing to visit these spaces that were unique and really represented the Danish design aesthetic, even though they were built 50 years apart. outside Grundtvig's Church inside Grundtvig's Church inside Bagsvaerd Church

We are about finished with our shape study (introduction/review). Most of my kiddos come in knowing their colors and shapes, but it’s fun to do a bit of a review, just to be certain. One of my awesome Kindergarten colleagues uses the Roger Hargreaves books to review shapes. She even has the most AMAZING puppets that another colleague made for her. I wish I had a picture, but you have to trust me that they are adorable. They are on my summer to-do list! So each week, we read one of the Roger Hargreaves books. (These were some of my favorites as a child, and when my oldest was little, I started scooping them up again!) After we read the book (which have great character ed lessons), I drew the character and brainstormed other things that have the same shape. Here are some of our charts: I’m missing a few of my charts, but I’ll add them as soon as I snap pictures! I LOVE seeing the kiddos refer to these anchor charts and I LOVE seeing them trying to draw the characters! They are so stinkin’ cute!!

60+ Must Make Kindergarten Anchor Charts for the classroom. Covers classroom management, literacy and math. Multiple ideas!

Roll It! Rounding Game is tons of fun for practicing rounding numbers or rounding decimals in math centers. Learn how to play this rounding game and download your free game boards.

These crystal stars made from pipe cleaners and a simple borax solution are SO COOL. And they're really easy to make! Leave them overnight and crystals magically form! Borax Crystal Star Ornaments OK you guys, I think I've fallen in love with another kids activity. These borax ornaments are so easy to make, and they look SO COOL when they're done! It takes a few hours to grow the crystals, but the actual work involved with putting them together is really fast. We whipped up our crystal stars in about half an hour before we left to visit my inlaws