Shape House!

Shape House! 

1. Gather your materials. You will need cardboard. I like using old cereal boxes because they accumulate quickly around my house. You will also need some paint, a paint brush, scissors and glue.

2. Cut out the shapes to make your house. Don't limit yourself to the shapes I used. Ovals, diamonds, and pentagons make great windows too! I kept it simple because of the age of my child. With older children this can be a complicated and long activity.

3. Paint the house pieces. To help teach colors and shapes, I lined the paint colors up and asked my son which colors he wanted and repeated the names when he pointed them out. Then, I did the same with the shapes.

4. As we painted each shape I removed that color so that he would use different ones. With older kids this may not work and that's fine. Let them have a say on the colors but you can try this with little ones.

5. Let the shapes dry.

6. Once they are dry glue the pieces on. I put the glue on the house and had my son pop them on. Don't worry if the chimney ends up in the doorway. Remember, it's their house!

Allison McDonald

has been teaching young children in various capacities since 1993. She started as a day camp leader in high school, taught various preschool programs at community centers through university, worked as a tutor while pursuing a second degree in elementary education, and most recently worked as a director and preschool teacher before becoming a full time mom. Now that she is at home she keeps one foot in education while sharing that side of her life with her son and the results have been amazing.