🎨 Moving & making · Ages 6–7 · about 3 weeks

Print a Cooperative Picture

Goal: Plan a shared picture using printed or drawn shapes, and communicate shape clues in an outdoor partner game.

For parents: Use optional washable, age-suitable paint with an adult nearby; drawings work equally well. Adults check tools, supervise painting and help wash up. Outdoors, choose a clear, level space away from roads and water. Adapt all gestures for seated play, or stay indoors. No racing or climbing is needed.

Do together

  1. Plan who makes each part

    You need: Paper, a large unbreakable cup, a whole folded cloth and crayons

    Choose a shared picture, such as a garden gate. Decide which parts could use rings from the cup rim and broad rectangles from the folded cloth. Sketch a plan and agree one part for each person. Explain how the shapes will fit together.

  2. Print together in layers

    You need: The plan, tools and optional washable paint or crayons

    Make your first planned shapes with prints or outlines. Let paint dry before adding another layer that crosses or overlaps a mark. Take turns describing where the next shape should go. Compare the result with the plan and agree one change if useful.

  3. Guess our outdoor shape

    You need: A safe outdoor space

    One partner describes a shape without naming it, such as 'four equal straight sides'. The other traces it in the air with an arm or points out its imagined corners. Give another clue if several answers fit. Swap roles, using shapes from your shared picture. Seated gestures are welcome.

Talk about it

  • Which shapes could make this part of our picture?
  • Where will your next mark overlap mine?
  • What clue could help your partner choose the shape?

Words to use

  • plan
  • print
  • layer
  • overlap
  • shape
  • clue
  • cooperate

Play

  • Shape Builder
    Building
  • Shape Detective
    Shape clues
Play these games free

Every game is free for every family until 20 November 2026.

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