Create a robot

Get your child to create their own robot by combining a range of 2D shapes. The most important thing you can do during this activity is to talk with your child about the features of 2D shapes that matter (the number of sides, lines and vertices) and those that don't (colour and orientation).

Things you need

Thick paper or cardboard
Glue or sticky tape
Scissors
Colouring pencils.

The challenge

Step 1

Get your child to draw various shapes onto cardboard or thick paper. The shapes will make up the different parts of their robot’s body.
For example:
triangles for the nose
quadrilaterals for the eyes and legs
pentagon for the arms
hexagons for the feet
octagons for the body
circles for the cheeks.
After your child is done, help them cut out their shapes.

Step 2

Now, use the shapes to start to form their robot.

Step 3

Finally, encourage your child to decorate their robot to make it their own, and give it a name. They might even want to write a story about their amazing robot.

The conversation

As your child is drawing shapes, encourage them to notice its particular features:

the number of sides
the number of vertices ('corners')
the different types of 2D shapes. For example quadrilaterals can be rectangles, squares, trapeziums, rhombus and parallelograms
the similarities and differences between different types of 2D shapes.

After the activity, challenge your child to spot their robot's shapes in their bedroom, on a walk, or on their way to school.