So many apple theme preschool activities! I love that the beginning of the school year also signals the return of fun learning themes, starting with apples! We’ve done a lot of free printable apple activities, so this free Printable Shape Apple Matching Game for Fall is a perfect addition to our apple theme preschool lesson plans. Play while sipping some caramel apple cider, baking apple pie, or eating caramel apples on popsicle sticks. Or pair it with some fun apple painting. No matter what, I’m sure your kids will love this shape activity.
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Teaching 2D Shapes in Kindergarten
TEACHING SHAPES IN PRESCHOOL AND KINDERGARTEN
SHAPE IDENTIFICATION (2D AND 3D SHAPES) IS A KEY COMPONENT OF KINDERGARTEN CURRICULUM.
Shape activities for preschoolers and kindergarteners are best when they are hands-on and fun. Children will learn basic shapes with this fun game in no time!
I like to include 2D shapes worksheets, games, dramatic play, and activities in my lesson plans all year. Students are either still learning them, or enjoying a fun game to develop automaticity in naming them or to begin describing them.
I like to teach this apple matching game in small groups first. Then, it’s a great activity to keep at the math center for independent or partner play.
In addition to practicing shape names while graphing 2D shapes, students can begin to describe characteristics of shapes:
- Are the edges straight, curved, or both?
- How many sides?
- How many corners?
- Can you find objects in the room that are the same shape?
What Can Apple Math Activities For Preschool Teach?
kindergarten and preschool shapes
LEARNING SHAPES WITH AN APPLE PRESCHOOL THEME KEEPS STUDENTS ENGAGED.
The 2D shape matching game will draw the attention of your students. From there, you can take the learning into other apple themed activities, or other shape activities!
Apple activities in preschool can cover:
- Math
- Science
- Language
- Alphabet
Why Is It Important For Kids To Learn About Shapes?
Children are naturally curious about everything around them. Learning about shapes is an important foundational skill in math.
Compare and Contrast
Learning shapes helps children’s brains get better at comparing and contrasting objects. It gives them valuable practice sorting and classifying as well.
Language
Learning to identify and name shapes gives children new vocabulary. Describing them introduces a whole other set of other math terms that will be expanded upon in future learning.
Numbers and Letters
When children begin to learn letters and numbers, they see them simply as shapes. Background knowledge about actual shapes helps them learn these new “shapes.”
Spatial Relations
Children build upon spatial relations when they learn to identify shapes. Completing a puzzle or putting shapes into appropriate holes are great ways to put spatial relations into play.
How to Make The Apple Theme Shape Matching Game
Step One:
To prep: Print the apple shape matching game on the white side of the scrapbook paper (or on card stock), laminate and cut apart the cards.
Step Two:
To play Memory, turn over two cards at the same time. If they match, you get to keep them and turn over another set of shapes to try again.
If they don’t match, you turn them back over and it becomes the next person’s turn. Play continues until the cards have all been matched.
Some of our Favorite Shape 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:
My First SHAPES Padded Board BookRound Is a Tortilla: A Book of Shapes (A Latino Book of Concepts)
Tangled: A Story About Shapes
Mouse Shapes
Shapes
Shape by Shape
Captain Invincible and the Space Shapes (MathStart 2)
Circle, Square, Moose
This Is a Book of Shapes
Perfect Square
Mix It Up
Use the cards for differentiated independent matching activities for kids. Depending on the skill level of the student, they can match shape/shape, word/word, or shape/word.
Sensory Bin
Hide half the cards of one type in the sensory bin. Students must find a card first, then find it’s match or sort the cards onto shape mats according to characteristics.
Make a Collage
Create shape collages by finding as my shapes as possible in magazines and gluing them into an overlapping collage.
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