Learning about shapes and colours are an important part of early childhood development. The below downloadable PDF features bright shapes for you to cut out and teach your child how to recognise shapes and colours. If you don’t have access to a printer, you can draw and colour in the shapes before cutting these out.
Here are some ideas on how to play and learn with the shapes
Downloadable PDF: Games to play with shapes
Instructions
1. Cut out all the shapes.
2. If you want to make the shapes last longer, stick them onto the back of a cardboard cereal box before you cut them out. You could also cover them with contact plastic to make them last even longer – and to protect them from baby’s grubby little hands and drool!
Two games for different ages:
Colour recognition: Ages 3-12 months
Look into baby’s eyes and then show and tell them the colour you are holding up. Repeat the colour a few times and have the patience to not expect baby to copy you right away. You can cut and paste the colour shape onto a piece of cardboard and hand it to baby to play with.
Why it helps: When you say the name of the colour it helps baby to practise listening. As you repeat the colour, baby also learns new words and gains understanding of the objects around them and how they are grouped into colours.
Shape recognition: Ages 12-18 months
Repeat the shapes to baby every day. Gradually introduce real life objects that are similar to the shape, for example a round ball to reinforce the idea of a circle.
Why it helps: Introducing real life shapes to your child reinforces the lesson and creates more curiosity in the shapes and colours of other objects. Real life objects also teach baby the concept of three-dimensionality, as opposed to just flat objects.
Click to view more sensory games you can play with your baby.