SQUARES

PEEKABOO SQUARES
For each of your children, cut a square hole out of a large piece of paper. Staple the top edge of the paper to another sheet of paper. Show each child how to paint over his or her square opening, covering it completely. When the paint has dried, demonstrate how to lift the top paper to reveal the square on the sheet below.
   

SQUARE CREATIONS Try one or more of these activities with your group. Mosaics: Cut 1-inch squares out of bright colored paper. Let the children glue the squares in designs on black paper. Quilt Squares: Have the children decorate paper squares with glued-on paper scraps. Attach the squares in rows to a large background to make a quilt. Picture Frames: Show the children how to glue four jumbo craft sticks together to make a square frame. Have them decorate their frames with such items as stickers, yarn pieces, or seeds.

 
FABRIC SQUARE MATCH-UPS

Cut pairs of square shapes out of various textured fabrics, such as corduroy, satin, burlap, or velvet. Use the squares for these games. Mix up the squares, put them in a basket, and invite your children to find the match-ups. Place one square from each pair in a feelie box and the other squares in a pile. Let each child select a square from the pile and use the sense of touch to find its match in the feelie box.

 

SQUARE PATTERNS From one color of heavy paper, cut out a number of small, medium, and large squares. On a table or on the floor, line up a few squares in a pattern, such as small-large-small-large, and let your children use more squares to continue it. Follow up with more challenging patterns, such as small-small-large-small-small-large, or small-large-medium-small-large-medium.

 
SQUARE POCKET PUPPET
Staple two 4-inch paper squares together around three sides to make a "pocket." With the opening facing downward, draw small squares on the pocket to create the puppet's face. To work the puppet, insert three fingers of one hand up into the opening, leaving the thumb and little finger free for arms. Use the puppet for identifying squares in the room or for telling stories about squares.
 

MOVEMENT FUN WITH SQUARES Make a large square on the ground using one of the ideas below. Then let your children move around the square in various ways, such as walking, crawling, jumping, or on tiptoe. Use masking tape to make a square on a vinyl floor. Create a square on a carpet with yarn Draw a square on a sidewalk or patio with chalk