Learning shapes is crucial for little learners. It helps them understand things they see around them and derive meaning from their observations. Most parents introduce different shapes to their kids when they are around 2 – 2.5 years old. By the time they are three years old, most kids can identify simple basic shapes. Toys, flashcards, puzzles, and shapes learning activities are all effective in teaching shapes to kids. To reinforce the understanding of different shapes, parents and teachers can also utilize online games so kids can derive the benefits of gamification.
Even a five-minute session of an online game is sufficient to give them practice through a different medium. Are you, too, looking for free games your child or students can play online? If yes, go through this write-up until the end as we share a few simple online games to help kids learn and identify 2D and 3D shapes commonly found around us.
Free online games to teach shapes to young learners
1. 2D Shapes Carroll Diagrams
Suitable for kids falling in the age group of 6-11 years old, this game requires players to sort 2D shapes on a Carroll diagram. The diagram has four sections, and each is marked with a specific attribute. As shapes appear on the left panel, players must sort them into respective sections to complete the task successfully. The game comprises four levels, and each level tests the players understanding of different shapes when presented in varied sizes, colors, and positionings. Let your kid try out this game to tickle their mind in a fun and challenging way.
2. Shapes Monsters
Here is a simple yet fun interactive game for 2-5 years old. It helps kids learn and identify basic shapes such as squares, rectangles, circles, and triangles. The interface showcases four monsters having bodies in the said shapes. When the screen displays a shape, the player must identify and feed it to the monster with the same body shape. If the player gets it right, the monster eats up the shape and repeats the shape name to reinforce understanding. It is a great game for small children as it covers both aspects of learning shapes, i.e., visual identification and naming.
3. Shapes Construction
The game represents a construction site where a cat and a dog are busy working. As the game begins, players must solve a shape puzzle that appears on the screen. Different shapes to fit in the puzzle are displayed at the bottom, which players must select and drag and drop to the correct place on the puzzle. The game gets more challenging at every level. The last level also touches on the concepts of symmetry. As the game has exciting visuals and relevant sound effects similar to a construction site, it successfully combines learning and entertainment.
4. Shapes!
Here is another interesting game that is divided into two levels. Players must listen to the audio and find the shape in the picture. All shapes are strategically placed in the image. Kids must take their time to find where a particular shape is positioned and click on it before moving on to the next prompt. A scoreboard in the lower left-hand corner displays how many shapes the player got right. To listen to the prompt again, players can click on the “Ear” button, which then repeats the name of the shape to be identified one more time.
5. 3D Shapes
As the name suggests, 3D Shapes is a game that helps kids learn and identify 3D shapes. Three floating logs carry different shapes toward the grey bunny. A voice prompt tells the player which shape they must locate. To make their choice, the player must click on the 3D shape they think is correct. The bunny then jumps and lands on it if the answer is correct or falls into the water if incorrect. In addition to voice prompts, players must also solve riddles to identify the shape it is talking about and then select the answer by making the bunny jump on it.
6. Shapes Vocabulary
This game is based on the concept of matching shape names to their respective shapes. The idea is to strengthen the “shapes” vocabulary in little kids. A total of ten shape names are present on the top of the screen. Kids can press the sound icon to hear the shape name and then click on one of the shapes given below that they think resembles the name. When the player matches all the words to the pictures, clicking on the finish button reveals the final score. There is also an option called “show answers” if the player wants to know the correct answers.
7. Shapes Matching Game
Preschoolers and kindergarteners love matching activities. This fun matching game is designed to give students a good round of practice in matching shapes. The game is divided into six levels. Players must match geometric shapes to their corresponding shadows in the first five levels. However, in the sixth level, they must sort the shapes into respective columns marked as triangle, square, rectangle, and circle. Besides enhancing matching skills, the game also improves motor skills in children. The eye-catching animations and soothing background music make for an enjoyable experience for kids.
8. Shape Invasion
This tricky game is best for kindergarten students until grade 3. It challenges players to rearrange shapes in a line so that they follow the same line-up pattern as shown in the shapes falling from above. Players can easily swap positions of two shapes by clicking on them one after the other. Each player gets five chances, and the one who successfully manages to line up shapes perfectly in every round wins the game. The game may seem simple, but it is not, as it requires the player to think quickly and act fast to increase the chances of winning.
9. 2D and 3D Shapes Recognition
Matheasily has designed this simple yet effective game to learn shapes and practice shape recognition. The game is divided into two subsets. One entails 2D shapes, whereas the other one covers 3D shapes. As soon as a player taps the “new game” button, they can hear a shape’s name, which they must identify out of the three options displayed on the screen. If the shape selected is wrong, they receive a prompt to give it another try until they find the right one. The 3D shapes game also follows the same format covering shapes like cylinders, cubes, and spheres.
10. Monster Mansion Shapes Match
Monster Mansion is different from other games as it can be played as a memory game or by keeping the pictures revealed. Kids can also select if they wish to match words to pictures or pictures to pictures. Once the game starts, the player must match the object to its similar shape. Each window has a friendly monster who reveals the objects and the shapes. If the player matches the shapes and objects perfectly, the game moves to the next level with new shapes and objects. The best part of this game is that it covers twenty different shapes in one game.
Wrapping up,
Shapes are an essential component of the preschool and kindergarten math curriculum. It is vital for little learners to spend a considerable amount of time refining their knowledge of shapes. The reason is – identifying shapes in mind is one thing, whereas naming them correctly is another. Therefore, beginning with basic geometric shapes like squares, rectangles, and circles, and later moving on to complex ones such as hearts, arrows, and star is the way to go. The online games we have suggested above are perfect for challenging little minds and developing problem-solving attitude. Which of the above games do you think your kid or students would love to try?
An engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor and animal rights activist. In more than 5+ years of my online teaching experience, I closely worked with many students struggling with dyscalculia and dyslexia. With the years passing, I learned that not much effort being put into the awareness of this learning disorder. Students with dyscalculia often misunderstood for having just a simple math fear. This is still an underresearched and understudied subject. I am also the founder of Smartynote -‘The notepad app for dyslexia’,