Shape Tracing Worksheets

Offer one or two rows per sitting, about five minutes. Name the shape, point to the green dot and trace the bold one with a finger. Then give the child a pencil or crayon for the dashed copies. Parents can look for the same shapes around the house, such as a plate or a window. Preschool teachers can hold a shape of the week. Skip any row that is frustrating and come back later.

Shape tracing sits between stroke practice and letters. A square teaches stopping and turning a corner, and a circle teaches one closed curve, the o in every alphabet. Triangles add diagonals, and the star and diamond need a sharp change of direction, so they usually come last. Children get stuck on corners that round off. Before this page, do the line strokes. After it, start tracing letters.

Choose Shapes under Pattern for this page. Go in order: circle, square and rectangle before the triangle, star, heart and diamond. If the corners keep rounding, stay on the square for a few days and tap each corner with a finger. For a variation, let the child color inside each shape after tracing, which adds practice with control.

Which shapes should a three-year-old start with?

The circle and the square. Both are simple closed shapes with few direction changes. Add the rectangle and triangle next, and leave the star, heart and diamond until the first four are steady.

Why does my child round off the corners of squares?

Turning a sharp corner needs a stop and a new direction. Tap each corner with a finger, say stop and turn, and trace slowly. It usually clicks around age four or five.

How does tracing shapes help with letters?

Letters are built from straight lines, curves and closed loops, which shapes practice. A child who traces a circle well has an easier time with o, a and d.