Please Touch Discovery Center: Shapes

We are pleased to present our newest Please Touch Discovery Center: Shapes!

With our Shapes Center we introduce Geometry for young children.

Geometry is the area of mathematics that involves shape, size, position, direction and movement.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics says, “As [children] become familiar with shape, structure, location and transformations and as they develop spatial reasoning, they lay the foundation for understanding not only their spatial world but also other topics in mathematics and in art, science and social studies.”

Exploring Shapes

Understanding geometric shapes is more complex than just knowing the names of common shapes such as circle, square and triangle. When children explore shapes, they:

• Find the right shape for the right space in a puzzle.
• Create designs: Put shapes together to make new forms.
• Recognize shapes and spaces: Locate circles in the supermarket or observe that this room is larger than that one.
• Create different shapes and sizes by folding a single sheet of paper or using string or other objects.
• Describe shapes: Identify a shape’s attributes such as number of sides, corners or faces.
• Compare and match shapes of different sizes.

Math and Science Skills and Concepts
When children explore shapes and use spatial thinking, they:
• Learn to name, build, draw, compare and sort shapes.
• Describe the attributes and parts of shapes.
• Predict and test the ways shapes can be combined or taken apart in order to make other shapes and patterns.
• Compare changes in shape that take place when objects are slid, flipped or turned.
• Discover symmetry when arranging shapes into designs.
• Build spatial memory and visualization by forming mental images of geometric shapes.
• Recognize and represent shapes from different perspectives.
• Locate shapes in the environment and describe their location by using positional words.


This information is from the What's the Big Idea? Mother Goose Programs

Books we recommend:
Shape Capers by Cathryn Falwell
Mouse Shapes by Ellen Stoll Walsh
Round is a Mooncake by Roseanne Thong, illustrated by Grace Lin
Grandfather Tang's Story by Ann Tompert, illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker

Tangram website:
http://www.tangrams.ca/

File Folder Game:
Preschool Printables: http://www.preschoolprintables.com/filefolder/gingerbread/filefolderginger.shtml



Match the gingerbread people!




A Perfect match!





Are you up for the challenge?



Complete the puzzle!
Courtesy of the Parks family



String puzzles...



...we made a diamond!



Tangrams to take with you!

We're waiting for you to explore!