With your child, look for and name shapes you find within larger shapes around the home and around town. For example, a rectangular window may contain six or nine smaller squares, or the pattern on a rug may contain a rhombus created from two triangles.
Play Spot the Shape: With your child, see who can spot the most two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes. You can play this game at home or during a trip around town. Challenge your child to describe the attributes that define the shape as she names it. For example, if your child sees a cube, she might say, “I see a cube! It has 6 square faces and 8 corners!”
Play Guess My Shape: Ask your child to guess a shape you are imagining by asking yes or no questions. For example, he might ask, “Does it have square corners?” or “Does it have any faces?” or “Does it have four sides?”
Play Draw that Shape: Name a two-dimensional shape (circle, triangle, square, rectangle, hexagon, rhombus, or trapezoid) for your child to draw. Then ask her to list the attributes of the shape she drew.
Encourage your child to use an analog clock at home. Consider covering digital clocks to reinforce practice with the analog clock.
Set particular routines such as bedtime, dinner, or homework time to the hour and half hour so your child can notice and tell time to the hour and half hour. For example, challenge your child to consider what time it will be at the end of his one-hour sports practice or half-hour TV show.
Look for shapes or objects made from parts and ask your child to determine whether they are equal parts or unequal parts. For example, when cutting sandwiches, intentionally cut 2 unequal parts to discuss why the 2 pieces are not called halves. Ask your child how you could have cut the sandwich to make equal parts.
Explore halves and fourths (quarters) in paper crafts, particularly when folding or cutting. Ask your child, “How can we fold the paper to make sure our four parts will be equal? How can we fold the paper to ensure we have halves and not just two parts?”
Provide opportunities for your child to measure and compare lengths in the home. He can use a household item (e.g., a string, an index card, a paper clip) as a measurement tool. Ask your child to use the words longer than, shorter than, and the same length as to compare the measured objects (e.g., “My shoe is four paper clips shorter than Ruthie’s shoe!”).