It can be a challenge for toddlers and small children to learn shapes. There are so many different shapes to master and it can get confusing when some shapes look so similar.
These shape flashcards from Just Family Fun are the perfect resource to help your child grasp names and the specifics of shapes.
The 2D and 3D shapes are brightly coloured on a pale grey background with the name of each shape printed in black underneath. They’re free, downloadable and printable and superb to use with babies, preschoolers, kindergarten or older children.
The Importance of Learning Shapes
Children observe shapes from an early age, but it can take a long time for them to master their names or specific properties such as how the shape looks or the number of sides or vertices (corners).
The shape flashcards can be a great way to help children solidify their knowledge. Helping your child learn shapes will also help them with literacy, math, comparison and categorisation as well as problem-solving.
What’s Included in the Shapes Flashcards PDF
The download includes 5 pages and features 20 shape flashcards in total. There is a mix of 2D and 3D shapes.
Types of Shapes
- Basic 2D shapes include a square, triangle, rectangle, diamond, cross, star
- Curved 2D shapes include heart, oval, circle, crescent, drop
- More complex 2D shapes include pentagon, hexagon, octagon, right triangle and a parallelogram,
- 3D shapes comprise a cylinder, cube, cone and sphere.
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What Can Our Shape Flashcards Be Used For?
There are so many things you can do with these printable shape cards. They can be used for a wide range of educational as well as arts and crafts activities. There are also some great shape games you can use the printable flashcards for.
We have a few ideas below to help you get started.
Visual Stimulation for Babies
Black and white flashcards are easy for your infant to focus on and can encourage their vision development. Print out the shape flashcards in black and white to help your babies see.
Name the Shape
Spend some time looking at the cards with your toddler, point at the card and tell them what the shape is. Once you have spent some time doing this see if you can challenge them a little. Hold up the card and ask if they can tell you what the shape is.
If teaching young children start with the square, circle, heart, star, rectangle, oval and triangle. The bright colours aid children when they are trying to memorise and categorise the shapes.
Leave the more complex 2D and 3D shapes until they are a bit older.
Shape Monsters
If you want to make learning shapes a little more exciting for your little one. This is a super craft to complete with them.
- Print out a copy of the shape flash cards. Cut the colourful shapes out and stick them onto some cardboard.
- Grab some pipe cleaners, cut them into short pieces. Let your child stick them onto the shapes to make arms and legs.
- Next, use some googly eyes to bring your shapes to life.
- Using the settings on your printer, print all pages on one page so you have lots of small shapes. Cut out the small shapes. Let your child give the shape monsters a mouth using the tiny shapes you’ve just printed out.
- Whilst doing the craft ask them what shapes they have used.
Shape Pattern Sequencing
Young children love patterns. Print out lots of copies of the shape flashcards in colour or black and white. Cut out the cards and make a pattern for example circle, square, circle, square. Ask your child to complete the pattern. You can make it more complex by using 3 or more shapes to make the pattern.
Interactive Matching Game
This makes a perfect game when learning to read the shape names. Print out a copy of the shape flashcards. Cut out the cards, cutting the name from the bottom.
Place the shapes cards on one side of the room and the names on the other side. Get your child to find the word that matches the shape.
Start with just a few basic shapes and introduce more shapes as your child become competent at the activity.
Once your child can read all of the shape names make it into a race. To see how quickly they can match the shapes. You might want to do this in the garden so they run a bit further and burn off some of that energy they have.
Shape Card Snap
To help your child visually recognise shapes, print out several copies of these shape cards. Cut them out, put them in a pile and shuffle the pack.
- Deal out the cards between all of the players.
- Players place their cards face down in a pile in front of them
- Starting with the youngest player, each player takes it, in turn, to turn over the top card in their pile and places it face-up, in the centre.
- When a card matches the shape of the flashcard below the players’ race to shout “snap” first.
- The person who shouts “snap” first gets the pile of cards.
- Repeat until one player has all the cards.
The goal of the game is to win all of the cards.
Go on a Shape Hunt
Use the printable shape cards to go on a shape hunt around the house, garden or classroom. Print and cut out the cards. Place the cards in a pile and ask your child to select the top card in the pile. Ask them to search the area for things that are the same shape.
You could even take the card for a walk around your local area for things that are the same shape.
Independent Writing
If your older child is learning to spell and write the names of shapes, let them copy the words from these shape flashcards.
Easy Shape Animals
For this activity, you need several copies of the shape flashcards in different sizes. Use the settings on your printer to print all pages on 1 page and then 2 pages. Cut out the shapes and ask your child to make dogs, chickens, butterflies or any animal they want with the different shapes. Draw faces on to make them look a little more lifelike.
Free Printable Shapes Poster
With 4 large basic shapes in different colours, these shape flashcards are especially eye-catching. The bright colours are brilliant for early learners so it is perfect to use as a free printable shapes poster.
This shape poster will be great on a playroom, bedroom or classroom wall and will make a great learning tool.
Conclusion
These free printable shape cards have unlimited uses for toddlers and kindergarten. You can also use them to teach reading and writing when your tiny people get a bit bigger. We have provided just a few ideas of how you can use the printable shape flashcards. What will you use them for?
DOWNLOAD SHAPE FLASHCARDS HERE
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