Children actually have many experiences with shapes before they enter school. Geometry is one of the most visible strands of mathematics. Playing with objects, understanding how they feel when grasped, learning their properties and how they fit together is part of a child’s early experience. Teachers must build on these experiences, exploring and naming shapes intentionally, and designing problem solving experiences that help children to develop spatial reasoning. Geometry also does not exist in a vacuum. Teachers must connect the study of shapes to pattern, measurement, and numbers. Materials such as geoboards, pattern blocks, unit blocks (the block area), and other types of parquetry blocks are manipulatives children should use every week. Connecting these materials to real world experiences via shape walks, art projects, and construction projects helps children to develop a deep knowledge of geometry.
