Preschool Shape Craft: Make Shape Monsters!

Today we are making monsters out of shapes! The scary cute monster possibilities are endless and it all starts with our favorite shapes: squares, circles, rectangles, triangles and even stars. Use this fun shape craft at home or in the classroom. While we created this shape craft with preschoolers in mind, kids of all ages can have some monster-size fun!

How to Make Shape Monsters

The world is full of shapes and today we will explore how shapes work together to make new and more complex shapes through this easy and fun monster shape craft.

Related: Over 40 fun shape activities

Preschoolers learn shapes primarily through playful interaction and exploration of their environment. At this stage, learning is largely experiential and sensory-based which is why creating something while playing with shapes can really help kids learn.

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Supplies Needed for Shape Craft

Instructions for Shape Craft

Step 1

Cut out shapes of different sizes and colors.

Step 2

Arrange the shapes to look like monsters.

Step 3

Glue together the creations you wish to save.

Practicing Fine Motor Skills Through Shapes

This is a great activity for practicing shapes, colors, cutting skills, gluing skills, and fine motor skills. You can rearrange the shapes over and over again to create lots of different monsters. When you find a monster that you want to save, glue the pieces together and let it dry. You can even glue the monsters down onto another piece of paper and create scenes.

Related: If you liked making monsters try this bird shape craft next!

Our Experience with this Shape Craft

Aiden (age 2.5) wasn’t into putting the monsters together himself. He enjoyed instructing me where to place the shapes. Just like our drawing game, I asked him what shape he wanted to use for the various parts. He also had to decide on the colors. He told me where to place the shapes until he was happy with the monster creation. Aiden wanted to color on the monsters, and he enjoyed telling stories about them. If your child is struggling with making a monster on their own, try making an example monster or getting them to tell you what to put where.

My son, like many kids I know, loves monsters. He likes to pretend monsters are coming over for parties. He likes to paint monsters. He was thrilled when I made him these 3D paper monsters from an origami paper cup. He had me drawing silly faces the other day. (He likes telling me what to draw or guessing what I’m drawing even though I’m not a very good illustrator.) I had the idea of drawing the faces out of shapes, so we could practice our shapes. I asked Aiden what shape I should make the eyes. What about the nose? What shapes should we use for the mouth. It was a fun little game. I thought Aiden would enjoy making his own shape monsters, and so can you.

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How did your shape monsters come out?