Did you know that when it comes to teaching your child their colours and shapes, you don’t need a whole collection of expensive gadgets or devices? Simple toys and objects that you likely already have around the house are perfect, as they not only teach them these concepts but also teach them in context, with all the variations they’ll need to know to apply that knowledge to the world around them.
Why is learning colours and shapes important?
Believe it or not, learning about colours and shapes provides a good, solid platform for babies to build a whole range of life skills on. From the beginnings of literacy and numeracy (think things like sorting, pattern recognition and the ability to categorise) to vocal development and vocabulary building, spatial awareness, and even critical thinking and problem-solving (something especially important in modern life!), simple colour and shape knowledge can help it all. By learning how to recognise shapes & colours, they can go on to identify fruits and vegetables, differentiate between letters, put together puzzles, and so, so much more. So, what can we do to help boost these skills? Quite a lot, as it turns out!
COLOURS
Colour Scavenger Hunt
This is one of the easiest activities to play, and even better is it can be tailored to their knowledge level. If they’re still tiny and don’t quite have the hang of connecting words with colours, try getting a few pieces of paper or card (they don’t have to be very big) in a range of colours, give them one at a time, and get them hunting around the house for objects that match! As they get more used to it, you can do away with the reference cards and just call out a colour. Or, to avoid ending up with a vast pile, try introducing numbers at the same time by asking for two blue things, four yellow things, or whatever particular combination you feel like at the time!
Chore/Colour Challenges
This is one you can use to help them learn and help out around the house. A great one is laundry sorting. Grab your basket of washed, dried clothes, and get your little one to help make piles of different colours. How many red items can you find? What about green? Maybe pick a colour each and see who can finish their pile the fastest!
Colour Match Boards
Colour match boards are great fun and don’t need to be bought – you can make your own without too much trouble at all! Grab a piece of cardboard or perhaps even a tray you no longer use. Make swatches using coloured pencils, paints, felt tips, fabric scraps – whatever grabs your fancy. Collect a few smaller items from around the house, such as toys, blocks, or your Haakaa Bendy Cutlery and have fun working out which ones go where. This is especially challenging when using varying shades of the major colours, and it’s fun to see where their logic takes them for the more difficult-to-define shades!
SHAPES
Shape Hunts
The colour scavenger hunt above? That’s something you can also change to a shape hunt! Try being a bit more specific with your requests to start with to really get them familiar with the different shape names. What does that mean? Rather than just asking for something rectangular, maybe try asking them to find a rectangular book. Different things tend to come in the same shapes (though, of course, your house might be different). Try square cushions, round bowls, or, if it’s nearly lunchtime, they might even be able to find a triangular sandwich! If you don’t want to spend the day hunting through the house but you have Haakaa’s Silicone Teething Ring, you’ve got a great little practice toy right there, whether they’re still using it as a teether or not. Coming complete with a circle, square AND triangle on the ring, along with different raised bump shapes on each part, you can quite happily teach different shapes in one very convenient toy.
Snack Time
Snack time is another way to teach shapes; all you need is some standard cookie cutters or a knife! You don’t need to restrict this to your homemade bickies, either. Use your cookie cutters (or knife) to make fruit, sandwiches or even cheese slices into whichever fun shapes you want to teach! Cut a couple of options for them, then ask which shape they’d prefer to eat first. Encourage them to say the shape’s name rather than just pointing to it.
Shape Sorting
Shape sorters are a very common toy, and you may well have one – in which case, this is the time to bring it out! If you don’t, you can make a version, though likely without pushing each shape through its corresponding hole – unless you have the time and inclination to make your own (in which case, go for it!). Instead, collect items such as lids or blocks in the shapes that you want. As many of each shape as you feel is reasonable would be best. Get a few empty boxes or just a few pieces of paper with the shapes drawn on them, and get your baby to sort them out. From there, you can then start asking for specific shapes to see if they can pull the right one out of the pile.
From these activities, you can then begin combining them so they’re dealing with multiple concepts at once. Ask them to find the pink star you cut out of paper, or ask which of their pieces of fruit is an orange circle. There are a few tips you can keep in mind that should help make these games a bit more of a success. Repetition is a key one – like so many things when it comes to young children, the more something is repeated, the more it will be retained, and, as many of you will be all too aware, kids love repetition. Another is to ask questions that don’t just require a yes or no. Try asking what shape or colour something is or if they can think of any other objects around them that match the one you have. Another key tip is to match your activities as much as possible to what they like. For example, if they are interested in cars, look at the vehicles around your area to help develop their awareness of things like colour or the shapes of different road signs. Finally, try to keep things active. Toddlers are little bundles of energy, and building movement into these games can be a really good way to help them learn.
Shapes and colours are all around us, and there are endless ways to incorporate these lessons into your day-to-day activities while having everything feel completely natural.