47 Fun & Engaging Preschool Shape Activities

Today is all about shape recognition! We have 45+ preschool shape activities, perfect for little kids who are learning the different shapes surrounding them. It’s a great way to learn basic shapes in a fun way!

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Best Activities To Teach Shapes

Learning shapes is a very important skill for young children. Learning the names of the shapes as well as understanding what they look like is an easy way to help children identify visual information and learn skills in several other areas such as math, science, and even reading. These geometric shapes activities are a great opportunity for building a strong foundation that will prepare little learners for school at the same time it helps them enhance their fine motor skills.

Besides, you can use different items to teach about shapes: from paper plates and pattern blocks to popsicle sticks and free printables, there are so many different ways of teaching shapes.

Whether you are a preschool teacher looking for some ideas for lesson plans or a parent that wants a fun shape activity for their young kids, you’re in the right place.

A lot of these activities are perfect for 3 year olds and above, but some might be easy enough for younger kids.

This article contains affiliate links.

Shape Activities for Preschool

We’re about to have so much fun – kids won’t even know they are learning!

1. Math Game: Geometric Shapes {Hands on Math}

Blocks in geometric shapes can make a great learning tool! Here’s a great math game to help your child learn while having fun.

2. Math for Kids: Making Shapes

Let’s learn about shapes with this math activity for kids. It’s a great summer activity that you can do with simple supplies.

3. Paper Activity: Shape Monsters

Here’s a fun little game for kids – let’s make our own shape monsters with colored paper, scissors, and glue!

4. 2d Shape Activities for Preschool, Pre-K and Kindergarten

Learning about 2D shapes is a must for every early childhood classroom. Here’s a compilation of 2D shape activities for kindergarten students. From Pocket of Preschool.

5. Road Shape Mats

Pre-K Pages shared 22 printable road shape mats to help your little learners identify shapes.

6. 2D Playdough Shape Mats

Download these printable play dough shape mats to help them learn shapes in a fun, hands-on way. From Pre-K Pages.

7. “I Have, Who Has” Shapes Game

Nothing is better for learning than a fun shapes game! Here’s a printable game you can try with small groups. From PreKinders.

8. Teaching Shapes in Pre-K

PreKinders shared a few games to learn about shapes, such as a memory game, a shape bingo, a shape collage, and more.

9. A wonderful way to introduce letters and shapes while building pre-writing skills!

Here’s a creative and fun way to introduce tracing letters, shapes, and numbers around the classroom without a worksheet. From Teach Preschool.

10. Shape Hunt

Explore shapes with a fun, interactive, and colorful game! From Teach Preschool.

11. Move and Learn Shapes with a Ball + Tape for Toddlers

Try a fun hands-on activity for toddlers for a creative twist to learning shapes! You only need a ball, painter’s tape, and an open space. From Hands On As We Grow.

12. Geometry for Kids: Finding Shapes at the Playground

Just print out this free shape hunt printable and go searching for shapes at the playground with this fun geometry activity for children! From Buggy and Buddy.

13. Geometric Shapes Math Activity for Kids

Learn by doing, creating, discovering, and exploring with a simple, fun geometry activity. From Little Bins for Little Hands. It also doubles as an art activity!

14. Gruffalo Themed Shape Animals Inspired by Author Julia Donaldson

Using playful shapes let’s explore the characters in the book created by Julia Donaldson to create Gruffalo Themed Shape Animals. From The Educators Spin on it.

15. Feed The Hungry Shape Monsters Sorting Game

Make a fun activity for preschoolers and school-aged kids with this feed the hungry shape monsters sorting game from The Imagination Tree! So simple to make and great for teaching little ones to recognize 2D shapes in a hilarious way!

16. Sticky Shape Bugs Activity

These sticky shape bugs are a great way to develop fine motor skills and critical thinking skills while learning about shapes. From Fun Learning For Kids.

17. Learning Shapes with Spaghetti Noodles!

Here’s a very fun way to teach shapes using spaghetti noodles! This hands-on activity also is a great sensory activity. From Teaching Mama.

18. Build a shape match for an easy DIY activity

This shape match activity gives new ways to use an old toy, while helping toddlers learn shapes. It’s super easy, too! From Busy Toddler.

19. Chalk Shapes Jumping Game

This jumping game is made by drawing chalk shapes outside. Perfect for gross motor fun while learning the shapes! From Craftulate.

20. Open and Closed LEGO Polygon Shapes

We love LEGO activities! This game is great for learning fractions and exploring geometric concepts. From JDaniel4’s Mom.

21. Shape Sensory Squish Bag for Kids

If your kids love sensory play, this activity is for them! This sensory squish bag has triangles, circles, and squares. From Still Playing School.

22. Stamping Shapes in Kinetic Sand

Stamping shapes into kinetic sand is a great opportunity to work on shape identification, count the sides and corners, and compare and contrast the shapes. From Still Playing School.

23. Make a Truck from Shapes

For this activity, you will need some shapes to trace, such as wooden blocks, paper and a pencil or pen. Preschoolers will enjoy making their own trucks! From Powerful Mothering.

24. Waldorf Square Geometric 3D Wooden Puzzle Blocks: DIY Toy for Kids

Make an easy DIY toy for kids made with wooden blocks and liquid watercolor paints. Children can exercise their geometric and spatial thinking while tinkering with this 3D wooden puzzle from Rhythms of Play.

25. Magazine Shape Hunt and Sort

Kids will learn shapes while they practice cutting, gluing and sorting. It’s also an awesome way to work on critical thinking and observation skills. From Fun Learning For Kids.

26. Building Rockets with Shapes

Building rockets with shapes is a fun way to review shapes and colors with toddlers and preschoolers! From Stir The Wonder.

27. Building on Outlines

This wooden brick activity is a great way to help kids with shapes and spatial skills. You only need wooden shapes, paper and a pencil. From Scotts Bricks.

28. Sorting Shapes in our Sensory Bin

Sorting Shapes in a Sensory Bin is a fun activity for children to learn about shapes and colors while developing their fine motor skills. Let’s play! From Learning 4 Kids.

29. Learning Shapes and Colors With Rainbow Rocks

Let’s make rainbow rocks to learn shapes and colors! For this activity, you need a collection of rocks and acrylic paint. It’s also the perfect addition to St. Patrick’s Day activities. From Fun-A-Day.

30. Simple Shape Collages

These simple shape collages are the perfect activity to create an enriching learning opportunity for your children with a few materials. From Homegrown Friends.

31. DIY Geoboard With Fabric Loops

This DIY geoboard is educational and super easy to make. It’s a a great way to learn about more complex shapes such as trapezoids and right triangles. From Crayon Box Chronicles.

32. Shape Monsters Collage Art

Let’s create shape monsters to learn different shapes, through art! This activity uses simple supplies such as markers, glue, and fun collage materials. From Fantastic Fun and Learning.

33. Photo Shape Puzzles

With these free printable shape photo puzzles from Fantastic Fun and Learning, preschoolers and kindergarteners can practice shape recognition and identifying objects that match the various shapes.

34. Cardboard Shapes – Easy Toddler Craft Activity

We love recycling materials for our kids’ activities! A few cardboard shapes provide a simple building and sorting activity for toddlers. From My Bored Toddler.

35. Trace The Shapes Art Project

This trace the shapes activity was a fun way to combine learning about shapes with art and fine motor skills development. From Gift of Curiosity.

36. Learn about shapes using paper plates and yarn

We love this preschool activity because it only requires yarn, paper plates, and paint. From Laughing Kids Learn.

37. Shape Play Dough Mats

These shape mats are perfect for a quick activity as you only need to print the mats and grab some play dough. From PreKinders.

38. Shape Hopscotch

We love this simple shape hopscotch game – it is a fun way to work on gross motor skills along side color and shape recognition. From Housing a Forest.

39. Shape Scavenger Hunt

Adding movement to learning makes it fun and engaging – that’s why this shape scanver hunt from Pink Oatmeal is a great activity for the classroom.

40. Floating Dry Erase Rainbow and Shapes Experiment

How does adding some science to your shape lessons sound like? This science experiment for kids is so much fun and will make learning the shapes easier for them. From Active Littles.

41. Nature shapes outdoor math activities

Got a little one that loves the outdoors? Then this activity is perfect for them – and it won’t cost you a thing! This approach will also make it easier to learn about measurement and sizes. From Nurture Store.

42. Shape Sorting Sensory Invitation to Play

This activity incorporates early math skills such as identifying shapes and sorting, fine motor skills and tactile sensory input. What a great way to learn! From Stir The Wonder.

43. Learning Shapes: Sponge Stamped Triangle Collage

In this simple art activity children will use sponges and tempera paint to make a triangle collage! From Buggy and Buddy.

44. Learning Shapes: Stuffed Shape Craft for Kids

Here’s a fun craft for preschoolers that is perfect for fine motor practice and learning shapes– stuffed shapes, using household materials. From Buggy and Buddy.

45. Shapes Treasure Basket for Baby And Toddler Play

This shapes treasure basket is great for both babies and older kids learning about shapes. From Play & Learn Every Day.

46. Shape Necklace Craft for Kids Using Dyed Pasta

Who said food and learning didn’t go together? {giggles} We used dyed pasta and pipe cleaners to make a shape necklace craft for kids. From Buggy and Buddy.

47. Math games – bake some shapes

Children learn through their senses, through hands-on play and through doing. This idea combines all three – let’s bake some shapes! From Nurture Store.

Want more activities for learning shapes?

• This matching egg game is a great way to help toddlers learn shapes and colors.
• Make a chickadee shapes craft with a few simple supplies.
• This basic shapes chart shows what shapes your child should know by each age.
• We have even more math shape games for preschoolers!
• Let’s find shapes in nature with a fun shape scavenger hunt!

Did you enjoy these preschool shape activities?