🔢 Numbers & shapes · Ages 5–6 · about 3 weeks

Shapes: Sides and Corners

Goal: Describe circles, triangles, squares and rectangles, and recognise them when their size or position changes.

For parents: A side is a straight edge on a flat shape. A corner is where two straight sides meet. A circle has a curved edge and no corners. Turn shapes around so your child sees that their names stay the same.

Do together

  1. Trace the edges

    You need: Paper and a crayon

    Draw a triangle, square, rectangle and circle. Help your child trace around each with a finger. Count straight sides and corners, touching each once. Compare a circle's curved edge with the straight sides.

  2. Turn it around

    You need: Large paper shapes torn or drawn by an adult

    Show the same triangle pointing up, sideways and down. Ask what changed and what stayed the same. Try a tilted square. It is still a square: turning it does not change its sides or corners.

  3. Build a shape picture

    You need: Paper and crayons

    Invite your child to draw a pretend bus or house from flat shapes. Ask them to describe two shapes by their sides and corners. Show that a square is a special rectangle with four equal sides; other rectangles can have two longer and two shorter sides.

Talk about it

  • What can you tell me about this shape's sides?
  • Is this still a triangle when I turn it?
  • How are this square and this long rectangle alike?

Words to use

  • side
  • corner
  • straight
  • curved
  • triangle
  • square
  • rectangle
  • circle

Play

  • Shape Detective
    Shape clues
  • Shapes & Colors
    Shapes
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