Simple shape games on the felt board

I just love the felt board but more importantly my students love it. The kinds of games we play with the felt board are not all that complicated and all I really need are just a few bight and colorful felt pieces and I have everyone’s attention…

Shape Games on the Felt Board by Teach Preschool

Before reading our book “Mouse Shapes” by Ellen Stoll Walsh, I took a few minutes to cut out different shapes from my collection of felt scraps.  I didn’t do the smoothest job cutting but no matter, with the help of our book, my students were able to easily recognize each of the felt shapes…

Shape Games on the Felt Board by Teach Preschool

With our pile of felt shapes, here are a few games we played together…

Estimating Shapes

To play this game, the children start by guessing how many shapes they think are in my loose pile of shapes.  I might say something like, “Take a good look and think in your mind how many shapes are on the board.”  Of course, the children will immediately shout out a number which is part of their fun.  Once the children finish shouting out a guess, we count out all the felt shapes to see what the actual number is…

Shape Games on the Felt Board by Teach Preschool

Identifying Shapes and Colors

Now that all our shapes our spread out on the board, we can take a minute to identify the name or color of each shape with a quick game of  “I Spy a Shape.”  I will simply begin by saying something like, “I spy something orange sitting on my board what do you think it is?”  or “I spy something with five points on my board, what do you think it is?”

Shape Games on the Felt Board by Teach Preschool

So far we have played two simple games without spending a long time on either game. Perhaps this is all your children will be ready for and it is time to move on to something new, but my students almost always want to keep going with a new game. 

What Can We Make with Shapes?

In our book, the mice built different objects with their shapes so we took about 30 seconds to see what we could make by putting our shapes together. This game was really to prepare the children for one of our centers – so not really a game as much as a quick way to model the idea of what they could do later on their own. While I made something with the shapes, the children tried to guess what I was building or gave me tips on where pieces could go in the process..

Shape Games on the Felt Board by Teach Preschool

Okay, so perhaps now your students are ready to move on. Now would be a good time to do so! But if they want to keep going or if you want to get the board out again later, here is another idea…

What’s Missing?

Now that we have covered all the names and colors of our shapes, I rearranged the shapes on my board and had all the children close their eyes.  I even tell the children to cover their eyes with both hands so I will know that no one is peaking! Now if you think my students will not peak then guess again.  Don’t get hung up on whether kids are peaking or not – just have fun with it…

Shape Games on the Felt Board by Teach Preschool

Now remove a shape and tell everyone to look up and see if they can figure out which shape is missing.  On the first round, my kids are not so sure because they didn’t know what the game was going to be. But by the second round, everyone can tell me very quickly which shape is missing.  I try to be sly about removing a shape from the board but my kids are too savvy for me and can guess which shape is missing very quickly…

Shape Games on the Felt Board by Teach Preschool

So, now are your kids ready to move on to something else? If yes, then it is time to stop playing games and move on but if they are still interested you can try the next game…

Stand Up and Sit Down

You will want to make sure you cut enough shapes so each child can hold one in his or her hand.  I had to cut an extra star and then every one had a shape to hold. Once each child has a shape, then you can begin the game.

If you have a star then stand up!

If you have an oval then stand up!

If you have an oval or a star then sit down.

Keep calling out shapes and giving directions to stand up or sit down (or turn around or jump up and down).  We get the game moving pretty fast and it gets totally confusing by the end but everyone is laughing and moving which is what matters most about this game.  We already have spent time focusing on names and colors and numbers so now its time to just get moving. When ready to pull it all back together, I have the children come and put their shape back on my board…

Shape Games on the Felt Board by Teach Preschool

Wrapping it up

Now that we have played all these games (or most all depending on the day or felt board pieces) then I send the children off to play in our centers which on this day, was also all about shapes. Yes, it was shaping up to be a very busy morning…

Available on Amazon

Links to Grow On

Make Your Own Flannel Board by Teach Preschool

Exploring Shapes with Blocks on the Table Top by Teach Preschool

DIY Mouse Shape Dice Game by Teach Preschool

Deborah J Stewart

Deborah J Stewart

Every time I think I know everything I need to know about teaching young children, God says, "Hold on a minute!" and gives me a new challenge.

Let me tell ya...

With each new challenge that you overcome, you will find yourself better equipped and more passionate about teaching young children.

God didn't call wimps to lead, teach, or care for His children. Nope, he has high expectations, so get ready. You will have to give your very best but after teaching for over 30 years, I can tell you that it is a wonderful and rewarding journey.

Whenever your calling feels hard, just remember, 'He who began a good work in you (and in the children you serve) will be faithful to complete it.'

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