OVALS

OVAL ART
Give each of your children a piece of white paper with a large oval drawn on it. Invite the children to tear colored paper into small pieces and glue them all over their ovals, covering the shapes completely. When they have finished, help them outline their ovals by gluing yarn around the shapes. Display the finished ovals around your room.
 

OVAL THUMBPRINT FUN Let your children try the activities below, using paint poured over sponges in shallow containers as paint pads. Oval Pussy Willows: Start with branches drawn with crayon on light colored paper. Dip thumbs into gray paint and make prints up and down the branches. Oval Eggs: Dip thumbs into white or brown paint and press them on paper bowl shapes to make prints. Oval Ladybugs: Make thumbprints on light colored paper with red paint. When dry, use fine point markers to add spots, legs, and a head to each print.

 
OVAL EGG SORT GAME

Set out three half-size egg cartons (each containing six egg cups). From white or brown paper, cut out six small ovals, six medium-size ovals, and six large ovals, making sure that they all will fit in the egg carton cups. Mix up the oval “eggs” and place them in a basket. Then invite your children to sort them by size into the three egg cartons.

OVAL BEAN GAME Cut five ovals out of felt and use a marker to number them from 1 to 5. Set out a bowl containing 15 oval-shaped dried beans. Then, sitting with each of your children in turn, have them name the numerals on the ovals and place a matching number of beans on each one. (Note: Activities using small objects require close supervision.)

 
ROLLING EGG STORIES
For each of your children, cut a large picture out of a magazine and back it with cardboard. Give each child a picture along with an oval egg shape cut from paper. Invite the children to sit with you, one at a time, and move their eggs around on their pictures. As they do so, have them tell you about what’s happening to their “rolling” eggs. When they have finished, let them glue their eggs onto their pictures any way they wish.
 
 

OVAL MOVEMENT GAME Cut one large oval out of heavy paper for each of your children. Also cut out a few other shapes, and tape all the shapes to the floor. Play music and invite the children to walk around the shapes. Whenever you stop the music, have the children search for the ovals and stand or sit on them. Continue the game as long as you wish.