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Shapes during mat time
Recently during mat times, we have really been working on the children's knowledge around shapes and colors. This is an area which the children get very excited and are willing to sit and concentrate during our mat times. During the mat time, Ange laid out all of the shapes on the wall and got all of the children to shut their eyes. Ange then took away a shape and asked the children what shape was missing. All of the children took part yelling out the shape they thought was missing. All of the children participated well in this game and were all extremely eager to answer the questions. This is showing that the tamariki have developed verbal communication skills for a range of purposes.
During this mat time, the tamariki all waited patiently for Ange to tell them when to look at the shapes on the wall after one had been removed. This was really a good task to do in order to test the children's patience. The children were able to voice their knowledge around the shapes, and when asked colors too. The children were all actively participating in this task by answering questions asked and communicating with their peers throughout.
Learning shapes not only helps children identify and organise visual information, but it also helps them learn skills in other curriculum areas including reading, math, and science. Learning shapes also helps children understand other signs and symbols.
As a team, we have really noticed the resources and areas of mat time that really engage the children. We are really trying to work on making days of the week, colors, shapes and the weather familiar to the children by frequently using resources in relation to each of them during mat times