Learn shapes for toddlers with car play mats! Shapes are one of the first ways, a child observes the world around them, and that’s how learning starts. A short article about the importance of shapes for early childhood development can be found here.
This is one easy and fun toddler activity that includes drawing with chalk and cars.
MATERIALS FOR THE ACTIVITY
You need:
- One DIY Car Play Mat
- Cars.
- Chalk.
This activity can be done anytime during the day and will keep your toddler busy for almost an hour. You would need also a wet napkin to wipe the car play mat if needed to redesign.
HOW TO LEARN SHAPES FOR TODDLERS?
First, you can outline a numbered parking lot in different shapes – triangle, square, rectangle, pentagon, hexagon, etc. Then you can add a roundabout and ask your toddlers to follow the road and repeat the shapes over and over again. Then you ask your child which what shape is this, what shape is that.
Adding numbers to the shapes helps learn counting. When learning shapes, it is important to explain what is a side of a shape, what is an angle, what is an oval, and what is a circle.
It is good also to involve different objects that you see around and compare them to different shapes.
We use the DIY Car Play Mat for the activity. You can also ask your child to draw a shape together with you.
BENEFITS FROM THE ACTIVITY
The main benefits are:
- Establishes shapes recognition and cognitive development,
- Helps your toddler to develop descriptive language skills.
- Ensures clear communication
- Early Math Skills Development – learning shapes and numbers.
- Helps developing fine motor skills.
- Improves visual analysis.
- Helps developing hand-eye coordination.
- Helps to establish concentration.
Happy Playing!