What shapes does a child need to know for kindergarten?
In Kindergarten, children typically learn the names of basic shapes, including some 3-dimensional shapes. Before entering Kindergarten, you can encourage your child to recognize shapes such as squares, circles, triangles, and rectangles in everyday life. For example, you can tell your child that you see something in the room that looks like a circle (e.g., a clock face), then ask your child to guess what it is by naming objects that are shaped like circles. Then your child can have a turn in finding an object that is shaped like a rectangle and have you guess what it is. This will help your child to associate shapes with their names, and will get them excited about seeing mathematics all around him/her!
Jennie Ito is a mother of two and a child development consultant who specializes in children’s play and toys. Before becoming a consultant for LeapFrog, she was an intern at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, and later worked as a content expert for the Association of Children’s Museum’s “Playing for Keeps” Play Initiative. Jennie earned her doctorate degree in developmental psychology at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada.