Objective

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to identify and describe basic geometric shapes found in nature while enjoying a fun hiking experience.

Materials and Prep

• Comfortable walking shoes
• Water bottle
• Snacks
• Small notebook or sketchpad
• Pencil or crayons

Before the lesson, familiarize yourself with basic geometric shapes and their names.

Activities

1. Go on a nature hike and observe your surroundings.
2. Look for objects or features in nature that resemble geometric shapes (e.g., rocks, leaves, tree trunks).
3. Use your notebook or sketchpad to draw the objects you find.
4. Label each drawing with the corresponding geometric shape name (e.g., circle, triangle, square).
5. Discuss the shapes you found and encourage your child to describe their characteristics (e.g., number of sides, straight or curved lines).

Toddler Grade Talking Points

• "Look at this rock, it's shaped like a circle! Can you find more things that look like circles?"
• "Wow, this leaf has a shape like a triangle. Can you find other leaves with different shapes?"
• "The trunk of this tree is so straight and tall, just like a rectangle! Can you find other things that are shaped like rectangles?"
• "Let's count the sides of this rock. It has no sides, so we call it a circle. Can you count the sides of other shapes we find?"
• "Do you see any shapes with curved lines like this seashell? What do you notice about the lines in different shapes?"