Four ways to develop shape & colour recognition

Four Ways to Develop Shape & Colour Recognition

- Guest Blog written by What2Buy4Kids

A key building block of a preschooler's development is the recognition and understanding of the world around them. Although they may not be able to name them, kids learn from an early age that there are different shapes and colours everywhere; but as shape and colour are abstract concepts, they can appear difficult to master for young children.

We all know that kids learn best when we make things fun and exciting, so below are a list of 4 things to try out with the kids to help with shape and colour recognition.

In the Playroom

Educational toys play such an important part in a child's development and can come in very handy when encouraging children to recognise shapes and colours.

Shape sorters are probably one of the best toys to help with this. The key part is the interaction needed by the parent (or carer). As children are playing, it's important to ask questions such as, "Can you find the circle?", "Where do you think the square goes?. As the child improves, make the questions more challenging to incorporate colour, e.g. "Can you find the red circle, the green triangle? Etc:. The team at what2buy4kids especially loves the Farmhouse Shape Sorter from the Bigjigs Toys collection.

Out and About

Colours and shapes are all around us, so make it part of a daily routine. A trip to the local supermarket can encourage kids to recognise colours and shapes, e.g. Let's pick 5 green apples and 2 yellow bananas.

Then, when you turn up at the checkout, get the kids to sort according to shape. This learning can also be reinforced in the playroom, as the children set up pretend play scenarios such as a shop or as they play in their toy kitchen.

In the Garden

The garden is a lovely place for developing colour and shape recognition, and we all know the importance of getting the kids to play outdoors. In the Spring, pick some yellow daffodils, white snowdrops, etc:. This is perfect for colour recognition and what's fantastic is that the kids' are learning without even realising!

As the weather gets warmer, you can set up a treasure hunt in the sandpit or paddling pool. It's simple, just put in a range of different shapes or colours for the kids to find and they'll be busy for hours! You'll usually find that they keep on asking you to re-hide the items as they love this game so much!

Art & Craft Activities

Art and craft activities are a great way to develop shape and colour recognition. Have a red arts and crafts morning, where all the paints and materials are red (red pom poms, red tissue paper, red pipe cleaners) and create a red masterpiece!

As you can see, the ways of teaching kids about shapes and colours are endless, with so many other ways that aren't on this list! As you start exploring, you'll see that there is a whole host of fun toys and numerous activities to teach kids about shapes and colours. Blocks, shape sorters and shape boards are literally building the foundation for learning through fun, one block (or shape!) at a time!

We're giving away a Farm Shape Sorter and Train Set in partnership with What2Buy4Kids To enter, choose one of the animals below and post its name in the comment of our Facebook Post!

You must like both the Bigjigs and the What2Buy4Kids Facebook page to be entered. While you're here, why not check out our other blogs!