Circles, squares, stars, and more! Click a shape below to learn its sides, see real examples, and try a fun quiz.
Shapes are the building blocks of everything we see — from the wheels on a car to the windows in a house. Learning shapes helps children recognize patterns, build early math skills, and describe the world around them. Click on any shape above to explore its sides, corners, and fun real-life examples!
Each shape links to its own lesson with properties, drawing steps, mix-ups and a quiz.
| Shape | Sides | Corners |
|---|---|---|
| Circle | 0 straight sides (just one curved edge) | 0 |
| Square | 4 equal straight sides | 4 |
| Triangle | 3 straight sides | 3 |
| Rectangle | 4 straight sides (two long and two short) | 4 |
| Oval | 0 straight sides (just one curved edge) | 0 |
| Star | 10 straight sides | 10 |
| Heart | only curved edges | 1 |
| Diamond | 4 equal straight sides | 4 |
| Pentagon | 5 straight sides | 5 |
| Hexagon | 6 straight sides | 6 |
| Octagon | 8 straight sides | 8 |
| Crescent | 2 curved edges | 2 |
All the shapes on this page are 2D (flat) shapes: you can draw them on paper. 3D shapes, like a ball (sphere), a box (cube) or a can (cylinder), are solid. Many 3D objects have 2D shapes on their faces: each face of a cube is a square.
Most children start with the circle, square, triangle and rectangle, then move on to shapes like the oval, star, heart and diamond, and later the pentagon, hexagon and octagon.
Both have 4 straight sides and 4 square corners. A square's sides are all the same length, while a rectangle has two longer sides and two shorter sides. So every square is a special kind of rectangle.
2D shapes, like a circle or square, are flat. 3D shapes, like a ball (sphere) or box (cube), are solid and take up space.
Go on shape hunts around the house, count the sides and corners together, and draw shapes step by step. Naming the sides and corners helps more than memorizing pictures.