Shapes Games for Kids

These shapes games cover many shapes and are a fun way for kids to learn shapes. These kids games are group games making them perfect for teachers, childcare givers and for birthday parties.

Learning shapes is a fundamental skill all children need in order to develop the proper skills for more advanced learning like reading, writing and math. Young children have a natural ability to understand shapes and know that they are different. But they need to not only recognize the difference but learn each name and how they are different.

These shapes games will help develop this skill and get them prepared for more advanced learning.

The kids games on this page can be done at home, in the classroom or even at a fun party. You can also check out these online shapes games for more learning shapes fun.

Use the links below to jump to a specific game or scroll through the page to see them all.

Shape Shifter Game
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Upset the Shape Basket
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Shapes Relay Race

New! You can even play some online shapes games. There are two different games on this page for lots of learning shapes fun.

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Shapes Games #1
Shape Shifter

Setup for the Shape Shifter Shapes Game

	Circle / Oval Setup - Using masking tape, draw out a large circle. This needs to be big enough for all the kids that are participating.
	Now draw out an oval shape using the same general area as the circle (see picture to the left to get an idea of the layout). The idea is to allow the toddlers to see both shapes on the floor to see how similar they are but also different.
	If you want to add more shapes, do the same with a square and rectangle, outlining each shape in the same general area on the floor. Repeat this with a diamond and triangle shape.
	If you have a larger group of kids, you can separate into 3 groups (1 group for each set of 2 outlined shapes).
	Now have the kids hold hands and step on the tape to form a circle, square or triangle depending on which pair of shapes they are standing.
	Using the lyrics below, have the kids chant the saying and as the words tell them to change, have them move from the circle shape to the oval shape.

Shape Shifter Lyrics
Sung to "If you're happy and you know it"

The words in bold are to be sung when the children do the "clap" part of this song. This game does not have to be sung to the tune for "If you're happy" but rather you can just have the kids chant the lyrics.

Here is a wav file of the song "If you're happy and you know it" without any lyrics (just instruments). There is a small intro before the actual section starts that you need for this game. This file is only a small example but will last long enough to complete one pair of shapes for this game. You can click here and either save the file to your computer or open it with your media player program.

Circle / Oval Lyrics

Look at me, look at me, I’m a circle can’t you see.

Look at me, look at me, I'm a circle can't you see.

But with just a squeeze here, and a stretch over there

I’m a shape shifter and my circles gone somewhere.

Look at me, look at me, I’m an oval can’t you see.

Look at me, look at me, I'm an oval can't you see.

But with just a big puff here and step over there

I’m back to what I was when we began.

Square / Rectangle Lyrics

Look at me, look at me, I’m a square can’t you see

Look at me, look at me, I’m a square can’t you see

But with two big steps in and three small steps out

I’m a shape shifter and my square is gone no doubt

Look at me, look at me, I’m a rectangle can’t you see

Look at me, look at me, I’m a rectangle can’t you see

But if I even up my sides and walk back the way I came

I’m back to being a square just the same.

Triangle / Diamond Lyrics

Look at me, look at me, I’m a triangle can’t you see

Look at me, look at me, I’m a triangle can’t you see

But if I break just one line and make a new point

I’m a shape shifter and my triangle is out of joint

Look at me, look at me, I’m a diamond can’t you see

Look at me, look at me, I’m a diamond can’t you see

But if break my new point and go back to the line

I’m back to the beginning and all is just fine.

This shapes game can be played for just a pair of shapes or all 6 shapes that are covered with the lyrics. If there are enough kids to cover all the shapes at one time, you can even play this all at the same time with each group saying their specific lyrics or do it in a round robin with each group going one after the other.

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Shapes Games #2
Upset the Shape Basket

This is a version of upset the fruit basket, but instead of fruits you use different shapes.

Setup for the Upset the Shape Basket Shapes Game

	Have the children sit in chairs in a circle, square or whatever shape you want. There should be enough chairs for everyone except one person.
	Pass out a different shape to each child or just name off what shape they are. Depending on how many kids, you want to try to have at least 3 different shapes.
	The child who is "it" to start with stands in the middle of the group. This person then calls out "upset the squares" as an example.
	All the kids who were assigned the square shape must get up out of their chair and run to another chair and try to sit down before someone else gets the chair.
	The person left standing is the next one who is "it" and is the caller. They can call out the same shape or a different shape.
	The child who is it can also call out "upset the shapes basket" and everyone has to get up and find a new chair.

This is a fun game but will need to be supervised to make sure the proper rules are being followed. Also, for the little kids, it is sometimes easier to mark an X on the floor for each spot versus using chairs.

You can alter this game to make it a colors game by having different colors instead of shapes. Or if you want to focus on just one shape and learn colors as well, you could mix and match shapes and colors.

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Shapes Games #3
Shapes Relay Race

Kids love to run and this racing shapes game will let them use up their energy as well as learn the different shapes.

Setup for the Shapes Relay Race

	Divide up the kids into 2 to 4 teams with four to eight kids on each team. The number of children on each team is determined by the number of shapes you want to use for this game.
	Have the kids line up by team at one end of the room.
	At the other end of the room place 2 of each shape you plan on using for each team on a table. So if you have 2 teams you would have a total of 4 of each shape. Tip: The reason for 2 of each shape is so the last child in the relay also has to select the proper shape instead of only have their shape left on the table.
	Assign a shape to each member of the teams.
	Each team member then must race down to the table, sort through the shapes to find their assigned shape and then race back to the beginning line.
	Once the first child has brought back the proper shape, the next team member would then race to the table to find their assigned shape. The first team to have all their members bring back the right shape wins.

For the shapes, you can either cut out shapes with paper or find household items that are the specific shape. This is fun for birthday parties and classrooms. If it's nice outside, you can set this game up to be played outside where there is more room for the kids to run.

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