Tag: Shapes

STEM

Paper Plate Shape Weaving Activity

Jennifer
Paper Plate Shape Weaving Activity

This paper plate shape weaving activity is great for preschooler’s fine motor skills and shape recognition. Kids get to paint and wrap yarn! As they wrap the yarn, talk about how many sides the shape has and how many points it has. Ask you child what their favorite shape is!

Supplies needed:

  • paper plate
  • watercolor paints
  • paint brush
  • cup of water
  • scissors
  • yarn
  • tape

How To:

Pick a shape you would like to make. There are so many possibilities — square, triangle, heart, circle, a star, and more! My son made a star as part of our Learning Letter S Week.

Start by drawing a shape in the center of the plate and cutting it out.

Kids can paint the plate with a variety of watercolors; be creative! My preschooler loved using paints and had a lot of fun with this activity. Let your plate dry before wrapping it with yarn.

Pick out yarn or string to wrap around your plate. I had some of this rose colored yarn left over from a crochet project, so we used it for this craft. I suggest cutting a 36-inch piece of yarn. You can always cut off any excess yarn when your child is done weaving.

Tape one end of the yarn to the back of the plate and then let your child start wrapping. When you are finished wrapping yarn, cut the yarn (if you have extra) and tape the end to the back of the plate.

You can repeat this paper plate shape weaving activity with other shapes and make a whole bunch. Be sure to make your favorite shape!

Looking for more shape ideas?

-Make shapes out of plastic cups and craft sticks: https://imaginationsrunningwild.com/2021/07/27/lets-make-shapes/

-Basic Shapes Penguin Craft: https://imaginationsrunningwild.com/2022/01/17/basic-shapes-penguin-craft/

-Worksheet — Matching Shapes: draw a line connecting all of the matching shapes.

-Worksheet — Shape Shadow Matching: draw a line from the shape to its matching shadow.

STEM

Let’s Make and Play With Shapes!

Jennifer
create and play with shapes activity with plastic cups and craft sticks

Let’s Play with Shapes!

Hands-on learning is always way more fun than passive learning, so let’s create shapes with plastic cups and craft sticks! First decided what shape to make… For this example, let’s make a triangle together. A triangle has 3 sides, so we will need 3 cups and 3 sticks. Place the cups upside-down to be the base of your shape. Next, lay a craft stick from one cup to another cup — great, now we have formed 1 side of the triangle. Keep connecting the sticks to the cups until you have all 3 sides.

What other shapes can you make with your cups and craft sticks? Say the name of the shape out loud and count the sides of each shape together.

This activity is such a fun way to play with shapes together! Not only are spending time away from screens, but your child is also getting to practice some of their motor skills by manipulating craft sticks and arranging cups.

More Shape Fun!

–Paper plate shape weaving craft: cut a shape out of the center of the paper plate and wrap yarn around the shape.

–Trace and Color Shapes worksheet: trace each of the 7 shapes and then color them in. Say the name of each shape as you trace it.

–Matching Shapes worksheet: draw a line connecting all of the matching shapes.

–Shape Shadow Matching worksheet: draw a line from the shape to its matching shadow.

–Tracing Shapes and Names Bundle: 6 worksheets for tracing shapes and the names of shapes.