Get Moving With this Fun Toddler Circle Activity!

Last Updated on January 18, 2022 by Sheryl Cooper

Inside: Looking for a way to introduce shapes? This toddler circle activity involves moving around the room,  finding hidden circles, and placing them on the felt board. Hands-on fun!

It’s no secret that toddlers love to move.

In fact, there are days where I feel like they could run a marathon and still have leftover energy to burn.

That’s why I prefer putting together learning activities that get the entire body moving. Especially when it’s during circle time, when young children are often expected to sit and listen.

These types of activities get the children engaged during circle time!

Get Moving With this Fun Toddler Circle Activity!

While exploring circles, I came up with a toddler circle activity that I suspected they would love.

• They could move.
• They could search for hiding objects.
• They could then transfer those hiding objects to a specific place.

It was a hit!

In fact, we’ve done it several more times.

And who knows?

We might just do it another time.

Yep, it was that much fun.

How to Put Together this Toddler Circle Activity 

I came up with this circle hunt activity after reflecting on how much my toddlers in previous years have loved any type of hunt I’ve put together.

Last year I created a “Count the Coins” activity that involved a hunt … and then throwing some simple counting into the mix.

That’s when it dawned on me that I should do this more often, building skills while including the children in a hunt!

Preparing this toddler circle activity:

I cut assorted colors of felt (this is my favorite) in a few different sizes of circles. (I use jar lids and plates as a template.)

While we were outside, my co-teacher hid them in various spots in our classroom.

When we returned from outdoors, the children gathered on our circle time carpet and I held one of the felt circles up.

I explained that we were going to go on a circle hunt, finding felt circles.

I told them that when they found a circle, they were to place it on the felt board.

And I then demonstrated how to do that.

As the children found their circles, I reminded them to press them on the felt board.

They were so excited every time they found a circle.

“I found one! I found one!”

I loved their excitement!

Toddlers love to repeat something.

So once they realized they could continue to look for circles, each time pressing the found circle onto the felt board, they were even more excited to go back and look for more.

Providing hands-on learning activities such as this, as opposed to flash cards and worksheets, works with how toddlers are wired.

They don’t want to sit still and look at circles.

They want to be out there moving and finding them!

Once we found all our circles, we were finished.

And I think I might have worn them out a bit.

How do you teach shapes to your toddlers?

More activities for toddlers:

25 Easy Toddler Fine Motor Activities

Alphabet Learning Through Play

20 Fun and Easy Toddler Activities for Home