Gross, Fine Motor and Manipulatives for Toddlers and Preschoolers Lesson Plans: Shapes

Whether teaching in the classroom or wanting to give our child the best experiences we can at home, parents and teachers alike need to include activities to encourage and develop both fine and gross motor skills. While concentrating on teaching your toddler or preschooler shape recognition, you may want to include these fun, creative and educational gross motor, fine motor and manipulative skill building activities.

Gross Motor Skills

Basket Ball (or other ball playing) This can include tossing the ball into a basket (you can even make your own with a ball for $1.00 at the dollar store and a large size waste basket); or playing ball with a bouncy ball outside. T-ball sets also enforce the shape concepts.

Tunnels: If you have the cloth tunnel, then crawl through it, kids love to have music playing. Don't have a tunnel, make your own with a large blanket and some chairs.

Bean Bag Shape Game; On a large sheet of paper draw or glue down large shapes. Toss bean bags to hit the shape.

Fine Motor/Manipulative's

For additional shape recognition, these fine motor and manipulative activities are not only fun and entertaining but educational:

Lacing Shapes: Do and Discover with Plastic Lacing Beads and Storage Container, available at Toys R Us for $15.99. This is a great learning tool as it include several different shapes in a variety of colors. The easy carrying case stores everything safely away for you. You can also use it to teach patterns, counting and color recognition skills. It will become a staple of your activities at home or preschool. If you are on a tight budget, cut out different size shapes from a large piece of poster board or card stock (bright colored works best) and using a hole punch punch holes around the edge of the shape. Pick up some shoe strings at Wal-Mart and have fun lacing.

Button, Snap and Zip: There are several dolls available that teach children to button, snap and zip. In our house it is a Zoe (Sesame Street character) doll, but I have also seen Ernie and other characters. These dolls are great for teaching these fine motor skills and teaching children to dress themselves, especially while potty training. If you or your class doesn't have one, practice on coats, jackets, shirts, and pants that you have around the house or bring some in from home for the class to use. On the dolls, each of the activities are a specific shape, which is why they are so helpful for these lesson plans.

Shape Boxes: These come in a variety of forms. In each house and school I have been in there are usually more than one. These may be the Fisher Price Shapes and Numbers Cookie Jar, Baby Einstein Color and Play Blocks, and one of our favorites is the Infantino Barn Shape Sorter which sorts and places for different color shapes and four different color letters.

Shape Puzzles: This come in assorted shapes and sizes. Our personal favorite is with foam and have six different shapes to match together. Even the younger toddler can participate in this fine motor, matching skill activity.

Building blocks: these are great for both fine and gross motor. If you have the large brick blocks that are rectangular in shape, get together with your child or class and build the biggest tower, house, castle or other item you can think of, reinforcing that the shape is rectangle. You can also use wood blocks, in different shapes and colors and build on the floor at table.

Teaching children is about consistency and reinforcement, but building upon basic concepts with fine and gross motor activities children will learn to "put all the pieces together.

Visit my Content Page for more Lesson Plans on Holidays, Zoo, Colors, and more themes. Look for my content on crafts and additional shaped themed activities for parents and teachers on Associated Content.