This month in preschool, it has been an active goal for the educators to boost the preschooler’s foundational knowledge and the ability to sort, categorize and make connections between objects, colours and shapes.
We have spent some time doing various colour and shape recognition activities as a large group, where children identified and learned how to make them using mathematical concepts. Educators provided sorting activities by laying out various shapes, children proceeded to sort them by colour. In another instance, children chose crayons by colour and matched them on paper by drawing straight lines, working on their fine motor grasp and dexterity.
Based on these learning experiences, we have provided curriculum that enhances their mathematical and cognitive skills. Educator Mia worked on building various shapes such as pentagons, hexagons, triangles, squares and many more, using popsicle sticks with the children. Children showed a lot of curiosity while learning to make these shapes, as the educator engaged with them by asking questions such as, “What shape is this?”, “How many sides can you count?” while working on those thinking skills. By recognizing and naming different colors and shapes, children sharpen their visual discrimination skills, which are crucial for reading and math later on.
Additionally, this month while preparing for a creative experience, Educator Sue was cutting out shapes, when Anahat noticed, and started naming the different shapes, showing her knowledge. “That’s a rectangle,” Luca exclaimed, “A green triangle!” Lylah joined in and said, “I see a star and Pom-poms.” “What do you think we are making using all these shapes?” the educator asked. “I think we are making a Christmas Tree” Elyas said in excitement. Children were provided with glue, pom-poms, and various shapes to build their own Christmas tree using those materials if they wished. This experience fostered the children’s cognitive development and gave them an opportunity to do a fun creative experience, as they built their trees using shapes of various colours.
Engaging with shapes and colours, not only enhances their language skills as they learn to describe the world around them, but helps them understand concepts like grouping, order, and similarity, making it a fun and essential part of their early education. Wonder where else this interest of shapes will take us.
