Straw Letters and Shapes

My kindergartner got an assignment to bring a 3-D shape for show and tell. We thought we would take it up a step from just finding a 3-D shape to making one. This project is so simple and it is a crowd pleaser! What started with myself and my kids, quickly became a neighborhood affair. We live in a great cul-de-sac and there is always someone knocking on our door asking if someone can play. As the kids in the neighborhood came to the door and saw what we were doing, they decided to join us. It was a lot of fun! 

This activity is pretty simple. You start with straight straws (if you have bendy straws, just cut the bendy part off) and cut up pipe cleaners. As I was opening a new bag of pipe cleaners I noticed that they were labeled as chenille sticks on the package. I kind of like that. It makes them sound extra fancy. I think Fancy Nancy would certainly call pipe cleaners chenille sticks. :)

Anyway, the straws are the sides of the shapes or letters and the pipe cleaners are the points or vertices. 

This is a great activity that can span from preschool to upper grades. You can practice making flat shapes to work on shape recognition

or you can work on 3-D shapes and talk about edges, vertices, faces, etc. (Notice the cube and tetrahedron on the shelf in the background.)

You can also use it to practice letter building. Not all letters can be made, but you sure can try! A is for Anya!