by Kim

Ninjas, especially LEGO Ninjago, are very big at my house.  My 6 year old is very into them and so is his 4 year old sister.  My son takes martial arts classes, so the interest is even more strengthened.

The idea for this project started with my 4 year old daughter wanting to be a yellow ninja. If any of you watch the Ninjago show then you know the girl in the show is actually a seriously awesome samurai, but my daughter simply has to be a ninja.  So we made her a yellow Ninjago ninja and named it.  This activity was such a hit. My son now wants to make these for his birthday invitations.

All you will need are construction paper, scissors, glue, and a pencil.

Trace a bowl or lid to make a circle on the construction paper.  This will be the color of your ninja.

Let your child cut out the circle.

Then cut a rectangle out of yellow construction paper.  Glue the rectangle to your colored circle.

While the children are gluing on the rectangle, you can be cutting out smaller circles and rectangles.  You may want to cut these out before the activity starts.

Have your children glue on the eyes inside of the rectangle.

At this point I had my children look at our ninja faces and compare them to the Ninjago faces we were referencing.  I asked them to figure out what was missing.  Instantly they noticed the eyebrows.

Now glue on the eyebrows.  At first my children put them on straight and separated from the eyes, but noticed it looked off.  They mimicked the eyebrows of a real Ninjago ninjas by angling and connecting the eyebrows to the eyes. It was truly neat to watch them compare and make adjustments.

They finished their ninjas with great pride.

FUN VARIATION: Make your ninja out of craft foam and use them as bath toys because they will float and stick to the tub when wet.  Who doesn’t love a good ninja bath?

The post Shape Ninja appeared first on No Time For Flash Cards.

This was not a planned project at all.  My daughter and I were painting Easter eggs in the playroom when I saw all the materials for this all together in my closet and inspiration hit. This is a simple and quick shape matching activity but it also has elements of fine motor, sensory and the carrots give it just a touch of an Easter craft. You could do any shape to fit whatever theme you are learning about any time of year , another reason I think this is such a great activity.

1. Gather your materials. You will need some sandpaper, felt , yarn, crayons and scissors.
2. Start by drawing your carrots with crayons. In my experience using marker on sandpaper is a bad idea. The sandpaper bits end up in the felt tip and the markers are never the same again. Crayons are much more forgiving and vibrant.
3. Cut your felt and yarn to size. Do not worry about an exact match. If exact means a lot to you reverse the order and use the felt shapes as a template and trace around them so they are exactly the same size. Either way your child will love it.
4. Invite your little one to come explore the sandpaper. Talk a bit about the texture by asking questions and /or labeling what they are doing.
5. Time to match up the shapes. Talk about how soft the felt is too if there is a natural chance to do it. If your child is engaged and not at all interested in exploring the textures don’t sweat it. Follow their lead .
6. I had my daughter remove the shape after putting it down to see how “sticky” the sandpaper was. She was fascinated that her fingers didn’t stick but the felt did.
7. Add the yarn. This was tricky but it was supposed to be. Just remember to walk the line between challenging and frustrating. She matched up a few and that was enough – this is supposed to be fun not a test of fine motor skills.

Books About Carrots

The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss is a rare gem, it has been in print for over 60 years and has delighted generations . If you aren’t familiar with the story, a little boy plants a carrot seed and everyone tells him “It won’t come up.” this doesn’t stop the little boy from patiently taking care of this little seed, that eventually grows into a giant carrot. The message is a universal one of sticking to your guns even when everyone tells you you should give up. My son loved the story the simple pictures that will bring you back to your own childhood, at least they did for me. A true classic.

Coco The Carrot by Steven Salerno is an absurd tale of adventure, and I loved it. Coco is a carrot who dreams of a life larger than the vegetable drawer . She dreams big and goes for it. Unlike most carrots that end up in stew she becomes a famous hat designer and is the toast of Paris with her Monkey companion Anton. If you are scratching your head but oddly intrigued you will like this book. It was long but my son sat with me giggling and telling me ” Carrots can’t do that?!” more than once. I loved it because it is so absurd that she is a carrot, but the story itself is about going for your dreams, hitting bumps in the road and realizing that your dreams shift and change and that’s OK.  There is great bits of humor for the adults as well, something I always appreciate!

Carrot Soup by John Segal is a cute book about planting a garden, in this case carrots, tending it and then reaping the rewards…. or maybe not. Rabbit carefully planned out his garden, took care of it but when it was time to gather all the carrots they were all gone!  Throughout the pages there are hints to where the carrots might be, your child will likely figure it out before Rabbit does. My son liked this book and I loved reading it with him as he was rather exasperated that the Rabbit couldn’t figure out the mystery!

The post Sandpaper & Felt Shape Matching appeared first on No Time For Flash Cards.

Learning shapes is much more fun when it’s hands on. Creating shapes, creating with shapes , and playing games with them are all great ways to learn what shapes look like and how to make them. These shape activities are fun, dynamic and your kids will love them. These are some of my very favorite shape activities along with a few from Tinkerlab , The Imagination Tree, and Kids Activities Blog.

Heart Rainbow Wall. Hearts aren’t just for Valentine’s Day.
Shape House. Fantastic for basic shapes and little hands.
Shape Dinosaur. Make shapes exciting for your little paleontologist.
Shape Sorting. An easy introduction for young preschoolers.

Pegboard Rubbings. Simple quick shape activity that kids love.
Shape Ninja. If you have Lego fan this might look familiar!
Tracing Circles from Tinkerlab
Shape Sail Boat. Set sail while learning about geometry.

Sponge Painting Shapes. Perfect for even the littlest artists.
Shape Pizza . Add shape toppings to your circle crust.
Sandpaper & Felt Shape Matching – contrasting textures make this more than just shape matching.
Shape Bulldozer. Bulldozers are rad!

Shape Trash Truck . Perfect for those kids who go batty on garbage day.
Shoot and Spray Shapes – fun outside activity.
DIY Geoboard A perfect hands on way to make shapes while working on fine motor skills.
Shape Banjo. Great way to mix math with art and music.
Shape Castle. Make it big and detailed or simple just don’t forget the glitter!

Ocean Shapes Mural – cooperative art project using shapes.
Shape Printing with Paper Tubes from The Imagination Tree
Shape Firetruck. Firetrucks were the big thing around here for a long time.
Shape Snake . Make a little one or a huge long snake full of all sorts of shapes.

Mining For Shapes. Play pretend while learning about shapes too.
Shape Skyscraper. Sort your shapes and make a 3D building with them.
Shape 4 Leaf Clover. Get ready for St.Patrick’s Day with this fun shape craft.
DIY Shape Sorter from Kids Activities Blog

Glow in The Dark Stars – These really glow!
Shape Princess. For your princess obsessed kiddos.
Shape Bat – Great for Halloween or for a unit about nocturnal animals any time of year.
Shape Scarecrow – This guy is too fun not to include!

The post 29 Fun Shape Activities appeared first on No Time For Flash Cards.

My daughter wants homework so badly. She sees her older brother do a little during the week and begs to get in on the action. I don’t think worksheets and preschool age kids make a great match. I think that hands on exploration and experiencing things with as many senses as possible is imperative for learning at this age.  However when you listen to your child and they are asking to try learning in a new way it’s not fair to ignore them. Instead find a way to twist the less developmentally appropriate activity into one that hits the targets you are hoping to hit. This worksheet is paired with a gross motor activity that lets the learner manipulate the shapes turning a static shape hunt worksheet into a dynamic activity.

Gather your materials. You will need our shape house printable ( or you can just draw some shapes on a piece of paper – both will work JUST fine), some crayons, a clipboard if they want to bring the sheet with them while they search, and objects in your house that match the shapes. I should have really checked to make sure we had a pentagon before doing this activity… I ended up having to cut one out of foam while my daughter searched in vain.

Show your child the printable and explain that everything has a shape. Today you are looking for those shapes at your house. When they find it they can color the matching shape in. Go searching! You can choose to hide shapes or just have them find things in the house that are in the same shape. We went for the later.Color the shape on the sheet when a shape is found.

For the square my daughter found a box which opened up an unexpected discussion about squares vs cubes.

She LOVED this even when it took forever to find a pentagon.

She was very very excited that we managed to find all the shapes and fill in her whole sheet.

More hands on shape activities – click on the image to see the full list!

The post Shape Hunt Worksheet – FREE Printable appeared first on No Time For Flash Cards.

Building sandcastles is tough , especially if you don’t live anywhere near a beach. This magnetic sandcastle activity is perfect for you no matter where you live. Not only are kids exploring the texture of the sandpaper they are exploring shapes and how they can work together to create something greater. Another side effect is the storytelling that might pop up like it did with my 4 year old. Her sandcastle was a story. If you don’t have a magnetic surface pick up a cookie sheet like we did for a dollar at Dollar Tree. I buy them 3 at a time.

Gather your materials. You will need some sandpaper, self adhesive magnetic sheets ( ours came from our friends at craftprojectideas.com ), scissors, a marker, and a magnetic surface.

Start by drawing your shapes on the back of the sandpaper. Be careful thinner sand paper will show the marker through if you use a dark color like I did. A pencil may be a better choice.

Cut them out.

Add the magnets to the back. My little helper showed up at this stage wondering what I was up to and helped.

Peeling the backing off of these self adhesive magnets is RAD for little fingers still developing fine motor skills, it is also fantastic for concentration and building patience. We can’t expect our kids to develop ways to deal with frustration and patience if we never give them opportunities to face them. She got frustrated a few times and I said ” It’s tough, Mama is having a hard time too. ” that was it. If you think the frustration will block the whole activity step in but it’s OK for kids to try hard things and fail.

This zig zag piece was extra but she insisted on using it so we added magnets to it together.

Time to play.  She was totally into it. I liked to see how carefully she was placing the pieces. ” They are rough on one side but not on the other mama!”  When my children make observations like that is when I jump on and try to add a little bit more of a lesson without breaking up their exploration. If they are silent I generally let them immerse themselves completely. When a comment like  that is made I might say something like what else feels rough like that? Or Do you like the feeling? Sparking more learning but using their observations as launching pad.

Her creation was a pool with diving boards for sand fairies.

Need some books to go with this activity? Check out our Beach Books round up. Click here or on the image to be taken to the full round up with complete reviews of each book.

The post Magnetic Sandcastle appeared first on No Time For Flash Cards.

I teach toddlers, and as I introduce concepts like numbers and shapes to them, I try to do it in a myriad of ways. No two children learn in the same way and so in my classroom I try to include these concepts in all sorts of explorations and play. We have shape beanbags, we have shape books, shape cookie cutters… and I wanted something soft that the children could manipulate and match. My goal with all these materials isn’t to sit down and direct my students to learn, but rather to invite them to explore, become curious and connected because then the learning will happen, no one has to force it. Here is how I made these in a split second, and my students have been matching them up ever since.

Gather your materials. You will need some sturdy card stock ( I got this in the kids section of Ikea, and I love how it’s corrugated because it’s fun to touch), some sticky back felt Sticky Stiff Felt Sheets (affiliate link), scissors, and a marker.

Cut the card stock into squares, make sure the corners aren’t too sharp, if they are just round them a little.  I made eight total.

On the back of the sticky back felt draw two identical shapes for each shape. Please do not fret if it’s not perfect. Seriously I promise you the kids will still learn and have fun exploring if one star is a little wonky.  I made circles, stars, rectangles, and hearts.

Cut out and stick onto the green card stock.

You’re done. Easy right?

Now how to use them, in my class I have these out at free choice, and I flip them face down and have children match them up like a little mini memory game. I also just explore them with them. Saying this like ” This heart is soft, how does that circle feel?” I also plan to use them for a circle time where I will hand them out ( I have one for each student) and then I will have shapes on a sticker on a bucket. After reading a book about shapes, I will invite my students to sort them. There is no real limit to how you can use them, but simple cards like these where they can feel and see the shape are invaluable, especially when they only take a few dollars and a few minutes to make.

The post Sensory Shape Cards appeared first on No Time For Flash Cards.

In December we make more crafts as the excitement about Christmas builds, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t slip in a little learning. Shape recognition is a natural add-on for Christmas crafts and activities. There is no need to make a huge lesson out of the shapes, just let your child play with them and create. Here are some of our favorite Christmas shape crafts and activities.

Ornament Match 

Paper Bag Gingerbread Men 

Shape Christmas Tree 

Shape Nativity Craft

Unbreakable Shape Ornaments 

Shape Wreath 

No Glue Gingerbread Men 

Lego Printed Wrapping Paper 

For more shape crafts and activities suitable for any time of year, check out our shape crafts category! 

The post Christmas Shape Crafts & Activities appeared first on No Time For Flash Cards.

Sorting is an important developmental skill that children use to make sense of their world relating objects to each other based on different attributes helps to develop this skill that will eventually aid in math development as well. This shape sorting tray combines that developmental skill of noticing and sorting by shape with the novelty of sparkly gems. Children love shiny, sparkly, “special” things and using that excitement for a more mundane activity like sorting is a great way to boost interest. I should note that while I designed this try as a shape sorting tray, it could just as easily be used as a color sorting one. If you have a student who chooses to color sort instead of using this as a shape sorting tray, do not intervene. Allow the child to make sense of it themselves.

Gather your materials. You will need a muffin tray ( yay for the dollar store), some gems, a tray, a small container for the gems before sorting, and double stick tape.

Start by sorting the gems yourself and using the double stick tape to tape one gem of each shape to the bottom of the muffin tin. Mine came off with some effort when we were done, but you need pretty strong fingers to do it.

Time to sort!

The simplicity of this activity is wonderful, but it’s also just shiny and sparkly enough to attract students.

The post Gem Shape Sorting Tray appeared first on No Time For Flash Cards.

I have been working on writing my new printable Build Preschool thematic units, and I made this game for my mini unit on shapes. It is a simple game that is targetted at preschoolers to play independently or with a friend. This printable game is quick, it’s designed to be one of many activities out during free choice time and is also perfect for quiet time. It can take a little while to roll that last star, but that offers children a lesson in perseverance in a very age appropriate structure.

This post contains affiliate links.

Gather your materials. You will need the printable game board, a foam block, a sharpie and a something to use as a game piece; I just used a 2nd foam block.

Start by printing off the game board. Click here to print. 

Next,  grab a foam block, I got mine at The Dollar Tree and your sharpie. Draw the shapes from the board onto the block. Let dry a minute or two.

Grab a tray to keep the die with the game and play! Start on the START star and roll the die, move forward to that shape and continue.

Books About Shapes

So Many Circles, So Many Squares by Tana Hoban is a picture book that is all about shapes in our environment. There is page after page of pictures of daily life, food, signs, etc… with the simple question of finding the shapes in the photos. It’s a great book to use as a launch pad into a shape hunt in your own home or around town and worth a few looks because you will be surprised at the shapes you missed the first time.My Heart Is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall is a simple book that uses heart shapes to create a whole zoo full of animals. The illustrations are bold, the text is simple, and it is a great book to spark an activity where children look for shapes in everyday items. A lovely book for toddlers and up. 

Flip-a Shape: Go! by Sami will keep busy toddlers interested in all the shapes that are made with a school bus, boat and more! The simplistic and bright illustrations coupled with the movements of the flip a shape, this book will be a hit with your toddler!

Dinosaur Shapes by Paul Stickland will delight you and your dinosaur fan. The book is geared towards toddlers and young preschoolers who are still mastering finding basic shapes.  A shape is displayed on one side of the page, and then those silly dinosaurs are playing with it on the other. My son loves dinosaurs so even though he’s known these shapes for ages it’s an enjoyable book with fun text and adorable illustrations by Henrietta Stickland.

Mouse Shapes by Ellen Stoll Walsh is a cute book that not only helps teach shapes it is also entertaining! The three crafty mice use the shapes to protect themselves from one hungry cat finally using them to make scary mice to frighten the cat away! Kids love to help find which shapes are used in the illustrations and older ones can even anticipate what the mice will make next. 

The post Roll a Shape Printable Game For Preschool appeared first on No Time For Flash Cards.

Building sandcastles is tough , especially if you don’t live anywhere near a beach. This magnetic sandcastle activity is perfect for you no matter where you live. Not only are kids exploring the texture of the sandpaper they are exploring shapes and how they can work together to create something greater. Another side effect is […]

The post Magnetic Sandcastle appeared first on No Time For Flash Cards.

I teach toddlers, and as I introduce concepts like numbers and shapes to them, I try to do it in a myriad of ways. No two children learn in the same way and so in my classroom I try to include these concepts in all sorts of explorations and play. We have shape beanbags, we […]

The post Sensory Shape Cards appeared first on No Time For Flash Cards.

In December, we make more crafts as the excitement about Christmas builds, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t slip in a little learning. Shape recognition is a natural add-on for Christmas crafts and activities. There is no need to make a huge lesson out of the shapes, just let your child play with them […]

The post Christmas Shape Crafts & Activities appeared first on No Time For Flash Cards.

Sorting is an important developmental skill that children use to make sense of their world relating objects to each other based on different attributes helps to develop this skill that will eventually aid in math development as well. This shape sorting tray combines that developmental skill of noticing and sorting by shape with the novelty […]

The post Gem Shape Sorting Tray appeared first on No Time For Flash Cards.

I have been working on writing my new printable Build Preschool thematic units, and I made this game for my mini unit on shapes. It is a simple game that is targetted at preschoolers to play independently or with a friend. This printable game is quick, it’s designed to be one of many activities out during […]

The post Roll a Shape Printable Game For Preschool appeared first on No Time For Flash Cards.

During the month of February, we use the excitement of Valentine’s Day to focus some of our attention on shapes, specifically the heart shape. There are many ways of doing this but I love creating with our hands in some way, to allow my preschool students to manipulate the shapes as they craft something with […]

The post Heart Shape Crafts & Activities for Preschool appeared first on No Time For Flash Cards.

It’s spring, and we have been learning a lot about lifecycles of creatures that we find in our backyards like butterflies and frogs. I wanted to expand on that learning with a fun activity that works on shape recognition. When I went to the dollar store to get flowers for our Mother’s Day centerpieces ( […]

The post Frog Pond Shape Match Activity for Preschool appeared first on No Time For Flash Cards.

Have you read Rex Wrecks It by Ben Clanton? It’s a great book that offers a fantastic foundation for multiple lessons. This Rex Wrecks It lesson plan incorporates social-emotional learning, shapes, and sorting. It is easy to differentiate this preschool lesson plan for various levels of learning and different skills you may be focusing on […]

The post Rex Wrecks It Lesson Plan appeared first on No Time For Flash Cards.

Winter is coming, and what better way to welcome the new season than with a fun and educational winter craft? When you are trying to teach children about shapes, one of the best ways to do it is to make it hands-on. This snowflake preschool craft is one fun way for your students to manipulate […]

The post Shape Snowflake Preschool Craft appeared first on No Time For Flash Cards.

It’s Pajama Day tomorrow in my class, and I wanted to create a new tray activity with a nighttime theme that my students could use in multiple ways. In early childhood classrooms, abilities and interests vary so widely that to engage as many learners as possible with the same material takes some serious flexibility. This […]

The post Printable Math Game for Preschool appeared first on No Time For Flash Cards.

Today I had so much fun making this paper plate pizza craft with friends from all over the world on Facebook. We talked about how we all like different things on our pizza, did some counting, and of course, talked about the shape toppings we added to our pizza craft. Food is a great topic […]

The post Pizza Craft appeared first on No Time For Flash Cards.