Preschool Shapes Activities: Circle Lesson Plan

Enjoy this simple preschool lesson plan that teaches young children about shapes. The activities below will introduce children to circles through an art activity, preschool picture books, a song about circles, and shape walk, and a circle sorting activity. This lesson plan works well in conjunction with adaycare center unit theme about shapes or math and manipulation.

Circle Art Activity
Circle Crayon Rubbings
Materials: Card stock or sand paper, scissors, cardboard, glue, light colored thin paper, and peeled crayons in various colors.
Instructions: Pre-cut circle shapes in various sizes from card stock or coarse sandpaper. Glue the circles onto a piece of cardboard. Place a piece of light paper over the circles on the cardboard. Encourage children to turn the crayon sideways and rub the crayons over the circle shapes to produce colorful designs.

Circle Math and Manipulation
Circle Sorting
Cut triangles, rectangles, and circles out of poster board in various colors. Provide two containers and encourage children to sort the shapes into two categories, one for circles and one for shapes that are not circles.

Shape Recognition
Shape Walk

Take children around the neighborhood, park or playground.  Have them point out circles as you walk.

Circle Preschool Music and Movement
Teach the children the song “It’s a Circle”*:

See the sun up in the sky,
Well, it’s a circle.
See a hula hoop roll by,
Well, it’s a circle.
See the sun up in the sky,
See a hula hoop roll by,
Round as a fresh baked apple pie
And it’s a circle.
See a wheel on a roller skate,
Well, it’s a circle.
See a cookie on a plate,
Now that’s a circle.
See a wheel on a roller skate,
See this cookie on a plate,
Boy, this cookie sure is great
And it’s a circle!
See that great big manhole cover
Lying on the ground.
It’s not a square or a triangle,
It’s big and flat and round-
And it’s a circle.

*Taken from Stepbystepcc.com

Circle Cooking Activity
Have a party or picnic with foods that are shaped like a circle. Some food choices include: Circle shaped cereal, sliced bananas, sandwiches cut into circle shapes, mini pizzas, sliced carrots, meatballs, grapes, scoops of ice cream, round crackers, etc.

Preschool Books about the Circles
Here are some great books about circles to share with children:
It’s Circle Time! Shapes (Rookie Preschool)by Emily Bolam[Children’s Press, 2009]
Circles (A+ Books: Shapes) by Sarah L. Schuette and  Elena Bodrova[Capstone Press, 2002]
Circles (Heinemann Read and Learn) by Diyan Leake [Albert Whitman & Co, 1993]
Circles (Bookworms – the Shape of the World) by Dana Meachen Rau[Benchmark Books, 2006]
Circles (Shapes Around Me) by Anita Loughrey [QED Publishing, 2010]