Christmas Geometry
Article
Is your child fascinated by geometry? Do they love building blocks, Tangrams, Lego, Minecraft-style video games, and logic games? If so, this activity is sure to be a hit. On the flip side, a fun activity like this one can also help kids who struggle with geometry. The important thing is that they enjoy themselves while watching the beautiful designs emerge. In this activity, you will create Christmas designs on a grid, using only broken lines and plane figures. Don’t forget to pull out your crayons and add some colour once you’re done!
Grade
1-6
Table of contents
Geometry is all around us, even during the holidays!
Take this opportunity to help your child learn to recognize the geometric shapes that we see everywhere in the run-up to Christmas. Here are a few points to explore together:
- The hexagonal shape of snowflakes: If your child isn’t yet aware, explain to them that each snowflake is different and unique (just like our fingerprints!), but that they all have six branches.
- Christmas tree star toppers: Ask your child if they can tell which plane figure can be used to create a five-point star.
- Festive motifs: Explore shape patterns on holiday-themed tablecloths, napkins, candles, stained glass, and even clothing. Look for diamonds on Christmas sweaters, rectangles on tartans, and triangles on quilt patterns.
- Gift boxes: Use some wrapped gifts to explain solids (3D geometric shapes) such as prisms, cubes, and even cylinders, if rolls or tubes are used as packaging. Although your child probably won’t help wrap the presents (because as we all know that’s a job for the elves!), as they unwrap them, they can try to figure out how they were wrapped based on their size and geometric shape.
- Christmas ornaments: Ask your child to point out the spheres and circles they see on the Christmas tree’s ornaments. You can also point out cones by looking at the shape of elf hats or the Christmas tree.
