Activity: Dinosaur Numbers and Shapes
Age range: 2-5
Supplies: Toy of choice and chalk
Purpose: Child releases some energy while learning/reviewing shapes and numbers. A child also practices following directions.
How: I used chalk to make shapes and numbers on the driveway. We reviewed the shapes and numbers as I was writing them. At first, I had him run to each shape, but he really wanted to play with his dinosaurs, so I made the dinosaurs a part of the game. I asked him to put the blue dinosaur in the rectangle, and then put the brown dinosaur in the diamond and so forth. You can make it more challenging by adding a sequence of directions. For example, put the blue dinosaur outside the rectangle and the brown dinosaur inside the circle. If you want to incorporate more physical activity you can instruct the child to run to the diamond and do 5 frog jumps, then skip to the circle and do 5 pushups.