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Shape Hunt Cards Basket
Printables Basket

Shape Hunt Cards Basket

Eight shape cards, a magnifying glass and the whole house. Take one card, hunt for that shape, and suddenly a wet afternoon has a job in it.

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Ages 3-615 min prep

I printed these for a rainy Tuesday and expected ten minutes. We were still going forty minutes later, having found circles in the washing machine door, the clock, a saucepan lid and a button.

The magnifying glass is doing nothing useful and is absolutely essential. Carrying it makes it a hunt rather than a worksheet.

The version that stuck is the outdoor one. We take three cards on the school walk now and shapes get shouted at me from the buggy the whole way.

One card at a time - that is the whole trick.
One card at a time - that is the whole trick.

What you'll need

  • The printable shape hunt pack, on card - eight shape cards, a tally sheet, sorting mats and an outdoor list
  • Scissors, and a laminator or clear tape to make the cards last
  • A small magnifying glass, purely for the feeling of it
  • A basket or tray for carrying the found objects back to
  • A chunky pencil or crayon for the tally sheet
  • Wooden shape blocks or counting bears, for sorting onto the mats afterwards
  • A tote bag, for the outdoor version of the hunt

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How to make it

  1. 1

    Print and cut out the eight shape cards. Laminate them if this is going to live in the bag.

  2. 2

    Lay all eight cards face up and name each shape together, tracing the outline with a finger.

  3. 3

    Hand over one card only. One card at a time is the whole trick - eight at once and nobody hunts anything.

  4. 4

    Send them off to find that shape in the house, and bring back one object that matches.

  5. 5

    Put the object on the matching sorting mat and tick the tally sheet, then swap for the next card.

  6. 6

    When every card has an object, line the whole collection up and count how many of each shape you found.

  7. 7

    For the outdoor version, take three cards and the tick list on a walk - road signs, wheels, windows, bricks.

  8. 8

    Finish by choosing the strangest find of the day and drawing it on the back of the tally sheet.

Tip

Do not correct a wrong find. If a slightly oval plate comes back as a circle, take it - the looking is what matters at this age and being marked wrong kills the hunt instantly. Keep three cards permanently in the bag for waiting rooms.

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