Geometry and Spatial Sense with young children: Some insights from Mme Rigolotte
- Frédérique and the Wooden Fellows
“Mom, where is Doudou?”
Like all other areas of mathematics, young children are naturally exposed to geometry and spatial sense as they go about their busy days.
Stacking blocks, proudly placing the last puzzle piece, drawing a treasure map, or simply looking for their lovey before heading to bed, are just a few examples of geometry and spatial sense in action.
Today, Mme Rigolotte offers some guidance on how to support and celebrate geometry in everyday life, with young children around us. As always, her guidance builds up from the uniqueness of young children—their ways of seeing and making sense of the world. By slowing down, listening, asking thoughtful questions, and being genuinely curious about their thinking, one can gently extend their learning, deepening their understanding of the world.
In 2025, Mme Rigolotte started a new series to dive deeper into early mathematics.
The series complements our introductory post, highlighting five main areas of early mathematics – Numbers and Operations, Measurement, Geometry, Early algebra (patterns), and Data Representation (sorting, classifying, etc.). See our posts on on counting, number stories, and measurement.
With so many free, research-based resources available online, our goal is to simply raise awareness about early mathematics and share ideas with anyone curious about helping young children develop these crucial skills. If you want to dig further, check some resources listed at the end of the post, or keep coming back : )
First, a chance for solo explorations: engaging with geometry all around
Mme Rigolotte has selected a few meaningful opportunities already woven into the activities children naturally enjoy. These moments, often spontaneous and straightforward, are full of rich potential for exploring geometry and spatial sense with young children.
As highlighted in our Series around picturebooks, picturebooks are often filled with illustrations that can spark discussions around shapes and spatial sense with young children. But we would also like to elevate the book “Dreaming Up” by Christy Hale, which combines beautifully architecture with children’s play and construction. A perfect resource to leave next to a box of Lego or other building materials to strengthen creative thinking.
Speaking of blocks, they are, indeed, powerful tools for spatial exploration. As young children stack, line up, balance, and connect blocks, they engage with shape, structure, and how objects relate to one another in space. Mme Rigolotte captured one of those moments earlier this week: Petite Clothilde, combining cloth and wooden blocks to build a castle for the Bouilles.
Turning and flipping puzzle pieces to make them fit is also an excellent way for children to engage with geometry and orientation, problem-solving, and spatial reasoning, all in one.
Puzzles are another well-known hands-on way to explore spatial reasoning. Turning and flipping pieces to make them fit involves shape recognition, orientation, and problem-solving, all bundled into one activity.
And finally, never underestimate the joy of a shape hunt, as a simple walk around the house or the neighborhood can become a meaningful geometry adventure. Where could we spot a circle? A triangle? The world is a landscape of shapes just waiting to be discovered.
Then, sharing with others: the power of communicating about shapes and spatial sense
Engaging with shapes and spatial sense as a solo explorer is just the beginning for a young child. Mme Rigolotte reminds us that talking about what children see and do is key to helping them build the language they need to name, describe, and make sense of their world.
Words like under, next to, curved, and corner don’t appear by magic—they grow from exposure, experience, and meaningful interactions. Narrating what a child is doing and asking simple, open-ended questions helps build spatial vocabulary in a natural, connected way.
“Mom, where is my Doudou?”
“It’s in your bedroom, on your bed, under the blanket.”
These everyday exchanges are rich with spatial concepts, and they are happening constantly.
Finally, language is not limited to words. Representation through drawing is another powerful way children communicate spatial understanding. When they draw houses, roads, or treasure maps, they translate ideas about space, direction, and shape onto paper. Add a clipboard to a shape hunt to add another level to their math exploration!
Do you remember when Maurice used his spatial sense around Paris, France?
Geometry in early childhood is not about memorizing definitions—it is about noticing, exploring, and playing with the shapes and spaces that make up our world. With a bit of guidance from Mme Rigolotte, everyone can embrace our daily life as a chance to explore geometry.
What geometry-related opportunities have you embraced today? Please share with us! Our space is your space : )
Additional resources
- Erikson Institute. (2014). Big Ideas of Early Mathematics. Pearson Professional Development.
- Fosnot & Dolk (2001). Young mathematicians at work. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
