Resources on Early Learning

Tip Sheets

There’s more to preschool math than counting! Children ages 3-5 are beginning to understand relationships among objects, spaces, and places. These are the basic concepts of geometry. Young children use geometric thinking when they describe where things are located or when they notice how parts of things are connected to each other.

Use the language of geometry.

• Use words like solid, full, surface, pointed, inside, below, flat, top, angle.
• Describe things clearly: “I need the empty bucket next to the fence.”
• When children know basic shapes (circle, square, triangle, rectangle), introduce more complex ones (hexagon, sphere).

Make geometry a part of daily routines. Children can:

• Put toys, dishes, or books away in specific spaces.
• Think about relative size: “Will that box fit in your cubby?”
• “Line up” to go places, and tell who is at the beginning or end of the line.
• Fill dishes with the appropriate amount of food for meals and snacks.

Play games that involve shapes, spaces, and locations.

• Introduce table games: Checkers, Candyland, Tic-Tac-Toe
• Show the children card games: Slapjack, Pyramid, Concentration
• Teach group games: Fox and Geese, Ring around the Rosie, London Bridge
• Provide target or basket games: Beanbag Toss, Carrom, Air Hockey, Bowling
• Teach musical games: Hokey Pokey, Mary Mack, Fingerplays, Musical Chairs

Offer activities involving shapes, spaces, and locations. Invite children to:

• Draw things they observe indoors and outdoors.
• Sew, braid, weave, and make mosaics, collages, sculptures, and folded-paper designs.
• Use containers of various shapes for sand and water play.
• Create designs with beads, pattern blocks, blocks, geoboards, pegboards, or have children position their hands, feet, or bodies to make designs. (Take photographs so they can see what they did!)
• Work together on puzzles, tangrams, and mazes.
• Construct buildings, doll furniture, or costumes from blocks, found objects, or fabric.

Encourage children to observe objects, spaces, and places.

• Look at artwork and talk about how the artists use lines and shapes.
• Using pattern blocks, puzzles, or other models, invite children to talk about shapes. “Which ones could fit together? Where do they touch? What other shapes can we make using these shapes?”
• Talk about how shapes might change or vary. “How could we turn the square sand castle into a rounded one?” “How can you tell these triangles apart?

You can find more geometric thinking activities at:

• Early Math: the Next Big Thing
  http://www.highscope.org/file/EducationalPrograms/
  EarlyChildhood/EarlyMath.pdf

The opinions, resources, and referrals provided in this Tip Sheet are intended for information purposes only and should not be considered or used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. We advise parents to seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health care provider with questions regarding their child’s health or medical conditions.

Spanish: El camino a la matemática: El pensamiento geométrico para niños pequeños

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