What could be more fun than a shape I spy hunt? A DINOSAUR themed shape I spy hunt!! This Dinosaur Free Printable 2D Shape Posters and I Spy Shape Hunt will captivate the attention of any dinosaur lover in your home or classroom and will provide some great shape practice.
Each free shape poster has a different shaped dinosaur and the name of the shape. Pair the 2d shape posters free download with the I Spy activity for a super fun learning activity for preschoolers.
Great Toys & Resources for Learning About Shapes
Educational Insights Shapes Beanbags Set of 8Color & Shapes Matching Egg Toy – Shape Sorting & Color Recognition
Learning Resources Translucent Geometric Shapes
Melissa & Doug Shape Sorting Cube
Melissa & Doug Shapes Wooden Chunky Puzzle
Teaching Shapes To Preschoolers:
Shapes are one of the first math concepts we teach to our children. There are many benefits to teaching shapes to preschoolers.
Learning shapes is awesome for spacial reasoning skills.
Knowing shapes and colors gives preschoolers some basic vocabulary to start to describe objects and the world around them.
Shapes are a foundational math skill that other geometry skills are built upon. Being able to identify shapes is one of the first steps in recognizing patterns.
When learning the alphabet, knowing shapes can be a valuable tool in helping children to learn letters and begin to write them.
What Shapes Should Preschoolers Know?
After your kids learn some basic shapes like square, circle, triangle, rectangle, and star you can begin to introduce them to more complex shapes.
Other shapes you can work on with your child include oval, pentagon, hexagon, octagon, rhombus, trapezoid, and parallelogram.
How To Use These Shape Activities For Preschoolers:
After you download the I Spy sheets, I see cards, and shape posters for your preschool classroom, print them onto white card stock and laminate them.
There are numerous ways to use each of these activities to help your child learn shapes!
Free Printable Shape Posters:
- Hang the shape printable posters around your home or classroom. Call out the name of the shape and have your child go stand by the poster.
- Print out two copies of each poster and make it into a fun matching game. If you have a classroom full of students you can have each one hold a poster and find their match. If you only have one or two children you are practicing with, you can scatter them around on the floor and have them make matches.
- Use the posters as shape mats. You can give out dry erase markers to practice tracing the shapes, or play dough to work on creating the shapes for a fun hands on activity.
I See Cards:
- Assemble the I See Cards into a book using a hole punch and metal ring. Use the book as a fun pre-reader! Keep it stored in your purse or in the car so your child can practice their shapes when you a have a few free minutes waiting for an appointment or driving somewhere.
- Stack the cards into a pile and place them face down. Have your child draw a card, identify the shape, read the sentence, and then go find an object around the house that is the same shape!
I Spy Game:
The I Spy activity can be used along side the full size posters or small I See Cards. Hide the cards or posters around your house or classroom and send your preschooler on a dinosaur shape hunt. They can check off each shape they come across on their hunt.
Keep a clip board and dry eraser marker handy, and next time you are out on a nature walk or driving in the car let your child hunt for shapes in the real world!
There are two different levels of the I Spy Game for a super easy way to differentiate the shape math activity.
Other Hands On Playful Ways To Practice Shapes:
- Have your child create their own drawing of a shape dinosaur, creature, or shape monster using a shape of their choice.
- Make a shape collage. Find pictures of objects in magazines that are all a certain shape, cut them out, and glue them onto a piece of card stock or poster board.
- Use a salt tray to practice drawing and creating shapes.
- Take your shape posters outside and practice building shapes in nature using sticks, leaves, rocks, and flowers.
Some of our Favorite Dinosaur Books for Kids:
We can’t live without these!
Once your child’s creativity is sparked with this fun activity, take it a step further with these engaging resources:
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Dinosaur A-Z: For kids who really love dinosaurs!How to Catch a Dinosaur
Dinosaur Lady: The Daring Discoveries of Mary Anning, the First Paleontologist (Women in Science Biographies, Fossil Books for Kids, Feminist Picture Books, Dinosaur Gifts for Kids)
Tiny T. Rex and the Very Dark Dark: (Read-Aloud Family Books, Dinosaurs Kids Book About Fear of Darkness)
Pop-up Peekaboo! Baby Dinosaur
Pop-up Dinosaurs: A Pop-Up Book to Get Your Jaws Into (Priddy Pop-Up)
Dinosaur Dance! (Sandra Boynton Board Books)
Touch and Feel: Dinosaur
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