I received a free copy of Away We Go! in order to review the book. This post also contains affiliate links. If you’d like more information about either, please read my full disclosure policy.I am very blessed that both my preschoolers {ages 3 and 4} LOVE to learn. I had a shape unit planned for them and was thrilled when ChiΓͺu Anh Urban contacted me about reviewing her book, Away We Go! It fit into our theme perfectly!
I was excited to print off several of ChiΓͺu’s free shape printables from her site and work on those with my kiddos. On her site, she has FREE coloring sheets and learning activities based around shapes. I always love it when another educator creates free, quality printables. It sure saves me time!
You’ll Enjoy Away We Go! because…
- it is full of vibrant colors and pictures, which are attractive to young readers.
- the shapes included in the book go beyond circle, triangle, and square. You’ll find the basic shapes, but preschoolers will also be introduced to many other shapes including octagons, diamonds, and ovals.
- it’s open-ended in nature, so it is a great springboard for other shape activities, which you can find onΒ ChiΓͺu’s blog. I’d like to share a couple of creative writing with shapes that we did, based on Away We Go!
Shape Pictures and Writing
Inspired by the cute shape pictures in the book, I pre-cut some shapes and asked my kiddos to make a picture with as many shapes as they wanted by gluing them onto a piece of large art paper.
MBug {3 years old} dictated a sentence about her picture and I wrote it for her. I encouraged NJoy {just shy of 5 years old} to independently write his own sentence. He wrote: “I MAD A BESOK” {I made a beanstalk.}
Shape-and-Seek Tracing
On another day, we had a little shape-seeking game around the house. We were looking for shapes like the ones in Away We Go! I was amazed at all the shapes they were able to find {we raided mainly our playroom and IKEA shelving system in our schoolroom.}
I encouraged the kiddos to pick small objects so they could create some artwork by tracing around them. This was a bit of a challenge for MBug, but NJoy did well!
Now you have the chance to win a signed copy of Away We Go! Just enter via the Rafflecopter widget below. This giveaway ends Friday, October 4th. {Open to US readers only}. Please read all terms and conditions before entering. Note that the only mandatory entry is a comment on this blog post. All other entries are optional.
~Becky
Cassie @ 3Dinosaurs.com says
I love circles!
Jen says
This would be great for my kids:)
Jen says
And my favorite shape is a rectangle.
Catherine Rutkoski says
I love teaching all shapes but my favorite is triangle!
Heather says
The hexagon is my favorite shape.
heathfamily7 says
Ooh I’d have to say circles are my favorite.
Tara H
kewkew says
My favorite shape…
Don’t think i have one. but i always liked the way paralellogram sounded, even if i can not spell it. does that count
emily says
Anything irregular π
Heather says
Hearts π
Venus Jones says
My 6 kids under age 5 would really enjoy this book.
Cindy says
My favorite shapes are circles and triangles.
Lynne Smith says
I love hearts! My kids love shapes. Last week one of the children I keep brought me the fisher price fences that connect together and said look Ms. Lynne, I made a trapezoid. She is 3 and I could not be more thrilled!
Audra says
Polygons!!!!
Trisha says
A circle!
Laura says
I love stars & triangles.
Debra G says
a triangle
lisa says
I love circles….
Leanne says
I like stars.
Laurie says
I like hearts <3. Does that count? lol
Roxanna Alcantra says
I love circles! 1st shape my boy learned to draw and he loves them too!
Nikki says
My favorite shape is the square. I love geometric art pieces with squares layered upon squares!
jayshree says
Circle. This is interesting
lenaherrington says
My favorite shape is the parallelogram. It’s fun to say. π
Angie M says
I love floral shapes! Probably doesn’t fit in the shapes category but I always smile when I see one.
Ashley Frank says
This looks so cute! I would love this book π
Ashley Frank says
Triangles!
Michelle Drake says
I like stars π
Suzanne Elizabeth Waithaka says
I love paisleys
Karolyn says
Triangles
Emily says
My favorite shape is a diamond, of course π
DJ says
A rectangle.
Jessica says
I love stars.
Nicole H says
Hearts and stars
Dayahana says
Stars
Karyn says
I have never really thought about my favorite shape- but I really like stars π
brandy says
Octagon π
Silvina says
Circles!! Very cool π
Renee Porter says
Circles π
Aarti tyagi says
Hello, myself aarti i m also a homeschooler my son is 4 yrs old. But he is unable to write n he does not take interest in coloring.I lov ur post n try to apply with him plz help me.