Ages 3–5 · 8 little discoveries
Piko's Shape Workshop
Eight discoveries about round lines, corners, turning shapes and putting pieces together.
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Round all the way
Recognise a circle by its curved boundary without corners.
Piko drew a round window. Follow its outside line with your eyes or your finger. The line goes round and comes back to where it started.
This shape is a circle. It has no corners at all. Even if you turn the paper, the circle stays round.
This triangle has pointy corners. Its line turns at each corner. The circle’s line just goes round.
In the games, look at the line before the colour. Find the circles and follow the round path. No rush!
Three sides, three corners
Identify a triangle using its three straight sides and three corners.
Piko draws a path with three straight lines. Each line meets the next one at a corner. Follow it all the way back to the start.
Count the sides: one, two, three. Now count the corners: one, two, three. Three sides and three corners make a triangle.
Piko turns the triangle sideways. Its point looks another way, but it still has three sides. Count the corners again.
A square has one more side. Count them slowly. In the game, look for three sides, whatever the colour or direction.
Four equal sides
Recognise a square by four equal sides and four square corners.
Piko makes a square mat. It has four straight sides, all the same length. Its corners look like the corner of this page.
Follow one side, then turn at the corner. Keep going until you are back at the start. That was four equal sides and four corners.
This long rectangle has two long sides and two short sides. A square has four sides of the same length.
A square can stand on one corner. Turning it does not change its sides or corners. It is still a square!
Long sides and short sides
Notice a long rectangle’s matching opposite sides and four square corners.
Piko draws a long rectangle for a door. It has four straight sides and four square corners. The two long sides are equal, and the two short sides are equal.
Point to one long side, then the side across from it. Now find the two short sides.
A square is a kind of rectangle too, with four equal sides. Today we are looking for long rectangles: two long sides and two short sides.
Turn a long rectangle and it stands tall. It still has two long sides and two short sides.
A new colour, the same shape
Use the boundary to recognise a shape after its colour changes.
Piko paints one circle blue and another circle yellow. Different colours! But both are still round, with no corners.
Now look at a yellow triangle. It has the same colour as the yellow circle, but not the same shape.
When we look for a shape, colour does not matter. Two different colours can be the same shape.
Say it before you choose: I am looking for triangles. Then check the line of every picture.
Turn it and look again
Recognise a shape when its orientation changes.
Piko turns a triangle like a picture on a table. First its point looks up, then to the side. Turning it does not add a side.
Follow the turned triangle’s outside line. Count three straight sides and three corners. It works even when the point faces down.
A square can stand on a corner too. It keeps its four equal sides. It looks different, but it is still a square.
In the games, imagine turning the paper back. Choose by sides and corners.
Two pieces make a whole
Join two fitting pieces to form a complete shape without a gap or overlap.
Piko’s circle has a straight cut through the middle. Now there are two round pieces. Each piece has a round edge and a straight edge.
Put the straight edges together. The round edges make the circle again. No gap, no overlap!
A triangle and a square can be cut into two pieces too. Look at the cut and the outside line.
Choose a piece from the tray, then touch its matching outline. Put the second piece in and look at the whole shape.
Choose a shape rule
Group examples using one stated boundary property and ignore irrelevant colour or direction.
Piko wants to tidy the workshop. Every box has a rule. Today one box is for circles: round all the way, with no corners.
Check every picture with the same rule. A blue triangle cannot go with the circles just because a circle is blue.
Now the rule is three straight sides. The circles stay out; triangles of any colour can come in.
Listen to each rule before you group. Touch again to change your choice. Then check the whole group.