Shape Monster: A Preschool Game for Learning Shapes (Free Printables!)

Objective: To introduce preschoolers to basic shapes and their characteristics through a fun and interactive activity.

Materials Needed:

• Free printable shape monster (provided)
• Lunch sack
• Different shapes (provided)
• Glue stick
• Crayons or markers
• Shape Monster coloring page (provided)

Introduction (10 minutes):

1. Gather the preschoolers in a circle and introduce the concept of shapes.
2. Show different shapes (circle, square, triangle, etc.) and ask if they recognize any of them.
3. Explain that today, they will learn about shapes in a fun way, through a game called “Shape Monster”.

Activity 1: Shape Monster Game (20 minutes)

1. Ahead of time, print out the colored shape monster and glue it to a lunch sack. Cut out a hole for the mouth. Also cut out the shapes with a 1″ hole punch. These 1″ circles can be made into buttons, perfect for little fingers to handle. (These buttons will be available for purchase in our store coming soon.)
2. Sing the rhyme, “Shape monster, shape monster, munch, munch, munch. How about a blue circle for your lunch?” and hold up a blue circle.
3. Ask a child to put the blue circle in the shape monster’s mouth.
4. Repeat the rhyme with different shapes and colors.
5. Encourage the children to describe the shapes they put into the monster’s mouth and to name their colors.

Activity 2: Shape Monster Coloring Page (15 minutes)

1. Provide each child with a Shape Monster coloring page and crayons or markers.
2. Ask the children to color the shape monster and cut out the shapes provided.
3. Have the children glue the shapes onto the monster’s mouth.
4. Encourage the children to describe the shapes they used and to name their colors.

Alternate Activity: You could also have the children make their own shape monster lunch sack. Provide the monster coloring page with the mouth cut out ahead of time. The child could color their monster and glue it to their sack. They could then do the shape monster activity over and over again on their own.

Conclusion (5 minutes)

1. Review the shapes and colors the children learned.
2. Ask the children to name some objects that have the same shapes.
3. Congratulate the children on learning about shapes and encourage them to keep exploring and learning about the world around them.

Assessment: Observe the children during the activities to assess their ability to recognize and name basic shapes and colors. Ask open-ended questions to encourage children to use descriptive language when talking about the shapes they use.