Solid Shapes

Book Cover of "Captain Invincible and the Space Shapes"

Every year, I struggle with my solid shape unit.  I can't find books or songs, and I also feel like manipulatives and fun games are virtually nonexistent.  I just purchased the book Captain Invincible and the Space Shapes by Stuart J. Murphy from Amazon.com.  It is a totally awesome book and perfect for any unit on solid shapes!  The story is about a boy who is a space captain along with his dog, Comet.  I told my kids that I had a special treat for them, and when I presented it they were thrilled!  They'd been asking me for space books for so long, and it felt fantastic to find the perfect book for them.  The book is really in the style of a comic book, but very appropriate for kindergarten.  Captain Invincible has to overcome many dangers and obstacles, and he uses solid shapes to get rid of the threats of the poison gas and galactic beast.  Seriously, my kids were spellbound!  They've asked me to read it every single day this week in math.  It's also great for beginning/middle/end and comprehension questions.  By the end of the book, you find out that Captain Invincible is a little boy in his bedroom, using his imagination.  His whole family comes in, in their pajamas, and they just want to get a little sleep.  In writing, we are currently working on list-and-label books.  This story really inspired my children to start writing their own books with little word bubbles.

After a lot of searching, I found a song called "Solid Shapes" by Miss Jenny.  There's also a wonderful YouTube video by Harry Kindergarten called 3D Shapes I Know.  My kids walk around the centers singing that song - it's SO cute!  Since I've never been able to find any good games, I made my own Solid Shape Bingo.  Again, I couldn't find any worksheets that I liked, so I made my own solid webs.  Here's a sample freebie that you can use:

Solid Web Worksheet Cube by Sharon A Blachowicz Dudley

If you want a whole set of products like this one, ready to use, take a look at my Solid Shape Unit on TPT.

I would really enjoy hearing about what all of you do for solid shapes, and I'd be very grateful for any advice or pointers that you'd like to leave in a comment.