Activities for September
Problem Solving: Shape Building Investigation
You have 10 sticks, stones, or other safe natural objects.
- What different shapes can you create?
- Which shapes have corners?
- Which shapes have straight sides?
- How can you prove that your shapes are different?
Nature Math Challenge
Go for a walk or visit your favourite place in nature. Invite your child to look for shapes in the world around them.
Can they spot shapes such as triangles, squares, rectangles, circles, or prisms? They can also create shapes using natural materials, such as sticks, stones, leaves, or pinecones.
Try asking:
- What shapes do you notice?
- How do you know it is a triangle, rectangle, or another shape?
- “Can you use these sticks or stones to make a different shape?
- What is the same or different about the shapes you found or made?
This activity supports children in noticing, describing, comparing, and creating shapes. The important part is not finding every shape; it is talking about what they notice and explaining their thinking.
Adapted from: The Robertson Program
