Shape and colour games for kids

Safety first

Stay with your child for every game. Younger children put things in their mouths, so choose only items bigger than your child's fist and keep coins, buttons, beads, marbles, bottle caps, batteries and other small objects out of reach. Grown-ups do all the cutting, and cut edges should be smooth. Paper, paint and sponge pieces are not food, so take them away if they head for a mouth. Use washable, non-toxic paint, wash hands afterwards and put every material away when you finish. Age hints are only a guide, so you know your child best.

1. Colour hunt around the room

Age hint: 2 and up.

Bring: A basket or a bag, and a few sheets of paper in different colours.

1. Lay one coloured sheet on the floor and say its colour out loud.
2. Ask your child to find something in the room that matches it, such as a cushion, a book cover or a toy.
3. Carry or point to the find and place it on the sheet. Choose things that are safe to carry together, and check each one first.
4. Swap to a new colour sheet and hunt again.

Notice: Which colour had the most things on its sheet?

2. Shape matching with paper cut-outs

Age hint: 3 and up.

Bring: Coloured paper, child-safe scissors for the grown-up only, a pencil and a sheet of plain paper.

1. The grown-up cuts a circle, a square and a triangle from coloured paper, each about as big as a hand. Cut two of each.
2. Trace around one of each shape on the plain sheet with a pencil to make a matching board.
3. Your child places each cut-out on its outline.
4. Count the sides together and run a finger around the edges.

Notice: Which shape rolls, and which one has corners?

3. Sort the socks

Age hint: 2 and up.

Bring: A pile of clean socks, a basket and two or three bowls or boxes.

1. Tip the clean socks into a pile on the floor.
2. Ask your child to put the red ones in one bowl and the blue ones in another, or sort by big and small.
3. Find pairs and hold them side by side.
4. Roll or fold matched pairs and drop them in the basket.

Notice: Can you find two socks that are exactly the same?

4. Rainbow line-up with household items

Age hint: 3 and up.

Bring: Everyday things in many colours, such as a soft toy, a plastic cup, a scarf, a board book and a tea towel.

1. Gather a colourful item for as many rainbow colours as you can, and keep every item larger than your child's fist.
2. Lay them in a line on the floor in rainbow order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.
3. Point to each one and say its colour together.
4. Mix them up and line them up again, or ask which colour is missing.

Notice: Which colour was easy to find, and which was tricky?

5. Shape stamps with a sponge or cardboard

Age hint: 3 and up.

Bring: A clean kitchen sponge or thick cardboard, scissors for the grown-up, washable non-toxic paint on a flat plate, and big sheets of paper.

1. The grown-up cuts a big square, circle or triangle from a sponge, or cuts and glues thick cardboard onto a block. Make each piece at least as big as your palm.
2. Put a thin layer of paint on the plate.
3. Press a stamp in the paint, then onto paper, and lift it up to see the shape.
4. Overlap stamps in different colours and see what new shapes appear.
5. Keep paint and stamps away from mouths. Wash hands and put everything away afterwards.

Notice: What shape did you make, and how many did you print?

6. Mystery bag touch-and-guess

Age hint: 3 and up.

Bring: A cloth bag or pillowcase and a few safe, soft items such as a sock ball, a small towel, a soft toy, a sponge and a wooden spoon.

1. Without your child watching, put one item in the bag. Every item must be bigger than a fist, clean and dry.
2. Your child reaches in and feels it without peeking.
3. Ask what they think it is, and whether it feels soft, bumpy, round or long.
4. Pull it out together and see if the guess was right.
5. Take turns, so the grown-up guesses too.

Notice: Which thing felt the softest, and which felt the hardest?

Tips for playing together

Keep each game short and stop whenever your child is done. Say each colour or shape word clearly, in any language you use at home. There are no wrong answers, and a mix-up is a good moment to laugh and try again. When you want a quieter turn, try some listening games for kids, or wind down at the end of the day with bedtime stories for 2-year-olds. For number play with the same age group, try counting games for kids.

More to do on Rangooo

Find more indoor games for a quiet afternoon, try rainy day activities, make more shapes with easy paper crafts, draw with easy drawing ideas, see what happens when paints meet in colour mixing activities, group things in sorting and collecting games, browse more stories and activities, or see resources for teachers.

Questions

What age are these shape and colour games for?

They are written for ages two to five with a grown-up beside them. Two-year-olds often enjoy the colour hunt and sock sorting, while older children may like the paper shapes, rainbow line-up, stamps and mystery bag. Age is only a guide, so follow your own child.

Do we need to buy anything?

No. Everything comes from around the house: paper, scissors for the grown-up, socks, a cloth bag, a kitchen sponge or a piece of cardboard, and washable paint if you want to stamp. Use what you already have.

Is it a problem if my child mixes up colours or shapes?

Not at all. Many children take time to match names with colours and shapes, and it is fine to just point and say the word together. Keep the games playful and stop when your child loses interest.

How do I keep these games safe for under-threes?

Stay with your child the whole time and choose only objects bigger than a fist. Leave out coins, buttons, beads, marbles, bottle caps and anything else small enough to be swallowed. Keep paper, paint and sponge pieces out of mouths, and put the materials away when you finish.