Christmas Shapes Match for Preschoolers

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This FREE hands-on Christmas Shapes Match activity is not only pretty but also fun and great for strengthening children’s shape knowledge, concentration, one-to-one correspondence, visual discrimination, and fine motor skills.

This easy-to-prep activity includes two mats with the outline of six shapes each, including the circle, heart, hexagon, octagon, oval, pentagon, rectangle, rhombus, square, star, trapezoid, and triangle. It also includes two mats with pretty shapes and colorful Christmas pictures. You can get it at the end of this post.

Importance of Learning Shapes for Preschoolers

Shapes are everywhere: in toys, in buildings, in signs, etc., etc. Those shapes are the same ones used to make up letters and numbers.

I have mentioned before that many, if not all, domains are tangled up together, and learning shapes is no different. When preschoolers learn to recognize and identify shapes, they help them develop skills in other areas such as math, science, reading, and writing.

Learning shapes also helps them:

Understand how to trace shapes and write letters and numbers using lines and angles.
The number of sides they must use and in what direction to create or trace a specific shape.
How to arrange different shapes in a specific space or create a pattern.
How objects are the same or different, and how two—and three-dimensional shapes are analyzed in various sizes and orientations.
Understand space, where they are, and how to get where they want to go.

Christmas Shape Match Activity

This Christmas Shape Match activity can be used in many ways, such as:

Small group activity.
Math center option.
Writing center option.
Take home game.
Quiet area option.

To prepare it, you only need a handful of materials, which are:

FREE Christmas Shapes Match activity (found at the end of this post).
Printer.
White cardstock.
Laminator and laminator pouches, or
Dry-erase pockets.
Scissors.

Print all the pages using white cardstock. To make them last longer, laminate the mats or place them in dry-erase pockets. Cut out and laminate the Christmas shapes. Place the mats and cut-out shapes in different centers, and invite the children to put the Christmas cards on top of the matching shapes on the mats.

Extension Activities

To extend the Christmas Shape Match activity, you can:

Have the children copy the shapes on a white sheet of paper using pencils, crayons, or markers.
Match each shape with plastic shapes.
Match the shapes on the cards in objects around the classroom.
Use the Christmas shape cards to create a memory game.

Christmas Storybooks

You know what I always say: You always have to include storybooks in everything you do. It is extremely important to read to your preschoolers every day. Stories provide children with many benefits for their learning process because they help them develop their imagination, learn vocabulary, understand concepts, and develop their pre-reading and pre-writing skills, among other benefits.

These are some suggestions of good books you can use during Christmas. You can find them all at your local library, used bookstores, and Amazon. If you want to add some to your collection permanently, click on the titles to go directly to Amazon through my links.

All I Want for Christmas Is Ewe by Ross Rossner combines beautiful illustrations, charming animal puns, and the evergreen message of love. This book is a marvelous way to celebrate the season and share your love for each other.

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas on the Farm by Craig Manning. In this Christmas picture book for kids, readers will love sharing in the excitement before Santa Claus arrives in this charming twist on the classic holiday story, which is filled with sweet farm animals, delightful rhymes, and beautiful illustrations.

The Christmas Wish by Lori Ever. Long ago, a brave little girl named Anja wanted to be one of Santa’s elves. So, she leaves a note for her family and helps her elderly neighbor prepare for the holiday. Then, she straps on her skis and heads out into the snowy landscape. A generous trim size, matte cover, extraordinary photographs, and foiled title make this a special book for the holiday season.

Little Red Sleigh by Erin Guendelsberger. This heartwarming book is full of winter joy and Christmas magic and will remind you and your kids that no dream is out of reach if you believe.

The Littest Christmas Tree by R. A. Herman. There are only five days until Christmas, and the Littlest Christmas Tree is still waiting for a home. On Christmas Eve, its wish comes true when the man who runs the Christmas tree stand takes it home to his family.

A Silly Milly Christmas by Sheri Wall. With plenty of rhyming and repetition, this book is perfect for reading aloud, early learning, and animal lovers everywhere.

Llama Llama Jingle Bells by Anna Dewdney. With short and simple rhyming text, the Llama Llama board books introduce Llama Llama to children before they’re ready for longer full-length stories. And their small size and durable pages are perfect for little hands.

Goodnight Santa: A Bedtime Christmas Book for Kids by Michelle Robinson follows Santa Claus’s journey from his workshop in the North Pole to his magical sleigh and flying reindeer, where he brings gifts of every shape and size!

How to Catch Santa Claus by Alice Walstead is poised to become a new holiday tradition. This merry picture book is filled with silly rhymes and illustrations sure to delight young readers and educators alike with STEAM concepts and classic hilarity and chaos.

Pin It for Later

If you are in a rush and don’t have time to read the post and download the printable but want to save it for later, pin it to Christmas or the math board on Pinterest to have it available when you need it.

I hope you enjoy this free Christmas Shapes Match activity and help your preschoolers learn or review their shapes.

Don’t forget to grab your printable by clicking on the link below.

Be happy, safe, and creative. I wish you well.

Love,

P.D. Please let me know if you like this activity. My goal is to help you in any way I can, and I’m not too fond of anything better than to post something that you might find helpful.