Activities: Fun with Shapes and Colors!

We, at Nayi Disha are strong advocates of using innovative and enjoyable pedagogical practices that not only help children to learn concepts in a better way but enhance classroom instruction as well. Our series on pedagogical practices will take you through some fun activities that you can try out with your students. You can use these activities to teach a concept or simply liven up the class on a dull day! We hope you like them.

Children enjoy playing around with different colors and shapes. In an art & craft class, we are sure you have seen children smearing paint and glue all over themselves. Children also like to hop and move around the classroom. So, here are some enjoyable ways to make them learn numbers while they create banners and hunt for shapes in the classroom.

 Activity 1 : Colourful Number Banner

What will you need:

Colourful paper cut into triangles (preferably chart paper), number stickers (1 to 10), a punching machine, ribbon, pencil, felt pens, and scissors.

What to do: 

1. Divide the class into groups of 5 children each and distribute all the materials equally.
2. So, each group of children will get : Number stickers (1 to 10) , 10 triangles of multiple colors and 10 tiny ribbons
3. Give each child 2 triangles (holes punched on two edges), ribbons and 2 number stickers.
4. Ask the children to stick the numbers on the triangles.
5. Now, ask each child to identify the color of the triangle and shout out the number stuck on the triangle.
6. Cut a piece of ribbon about 2 feet long and help the children tie two flags together loosely. The Colourful number banner is ready to be put up on the walls of your classroom.
7. Before your hang it on your classroom’s wall, hold the banner and ask the group of children to count out the numbers loud.

You can use your creativity to play around with different shapes as well. If you can’t find number stickers, you can simply write the numbers in bold using a black felt pen or cut out numbers and stick them with glue.

What will your students learn:

This activity will help your students to learn about numbers and improve their shape and color recognition skills. Additionally, it will also help them build fine motor skills as they use their fingers to stick the numbers and tie the ribbons. Children will also learn to work in groups while they help each other create the banner.

 Activity 2: Hunt the Shapes

What will you need: 

Squares, Triangles, Circles and Rectangles cut out from papers of different colours. Ribbons / Strings. Tape. Punching machine

What to do:

1. Punch a hole on all the cutouts. Tie a ribbon/string around the hole.
2. Using the tape, place the shapes in different spots around the classroom, such that it will require the child to move around the class and pull them out. You can use the corners of the classroom, black board etc. to hang the cutouts.
3. Now, choose 3 to 4 children for the activity.
4. Challenge the kindergartners to find a certain number, such as three blue circles and 2 red squares, ask them to count all the shapes and shout out the final number in front of the class.

What will your students learn:

This activity builds shape and colour recognition, but it also give students time to practice counting. You can also do other math hunts, such as challenging the students to find three circular-shaped items in the classroom or pointing out what numbers they notice around the classroom.

We hope you liked the activities! Try them out with the students and let us know about the results.Lastly, we are sure that as educators, you must have tried a few activities with your class. If you have, please share them with us and the other teachers reading this post!