Draw Round the Shapes
What you need
- things with flat edges to draw round: a plate, a small box, a cookie cutter
- paper
- crayons
How to do it
- Put the plate on the paper and hold it still while your child draws round it with a crayon.
- Lift it off and ask what shape is left. Then draw round the box: a square or a rectangle?
- Let them draw round the rest, holding each shape still themselves this time.
- Then ask them to draw a circle on their own, with nothing to draw round, and say what it could be: a sun, a ball, a face.
Why it matters
Their hand follows the edge all the way round, and the freehand circle afterwards is the same shape drawn from memory.
What they're learning
- Crayon grip
- Holding the crayon steady while going all the way round.
- Shape words
- Circle, square, rectangle, left behind on the paper.
- Closed shapes
- Joining the end of the line back to the start.
What to look for
Notice them joining the end of a circle back to where they started.
A tip
Bigger shapes are easier to hold still and go round than small lids.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: use one big plate and draw round it together, your hand over theirs
Harder: draw round shapes that overlap, and colour in where they cross
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Fine motor activities · Toddler activities with paper · Toddler activities with a cardboard box