Building 2D & 3D Shapes with Craft Sticks

Over the summer holidays, I’ve joined together with a group of bloggers to bring you weekly craft and play ideas using simple supplies from around the home or garden. We’re starting with sticks (either sticks from outdoors, or craft sticks). Make sure to check out all of the other fun stick ideas linked at the end of the post, but first – here’s our simple play idea, building 2D & 3D shapes from craft sticks

I set out the activity on one tray per child with a set of craft sticks, and one tub of playdough each and let them get busy building their shapes. If your kids have been learning about 2D and 3D shapes in school then this is a fun and simple way to keep that knowledge fresh over the summer holidays. T had been learning the names of these in reception class this year, and Z had covered them in year 2 too, along with thinking about lines of symmetry. The good thing about these simple open ended activities is that each child can tailor their creations to their own level.

Making the 3D shapes was a little trickier than the boys thought it was going to be. They have to use their problem solving skills to work out how to get the shapes to stand up well but it was a fun challenge for them.

Making the 2D shapes was of course much easier!

You can use another colour to mark out the lines of symmetry

And you don’t really need the playdough to stick it together if you’re sticking on one level, so if you don’t have that to hand then stick to the 2d! Challenge the kids to see how many sides they can make in a shape – can they go bigger than a hectagon, septagon, octagon, or even a dodecagon?

Experiment in making 3D shapes with differently shaped bases. Is a pyramid with a square base better, or a triangular based pyramid?

If you do have a large collection of sticks from outdoors, you can of course try your 2d and 3d shape creation with those too – maybe on a bigger scale!

More Stick Activities and Crafts

Yarn Wrapped Sticks from Mum in the Mad House

Craft Stick Superhero Puzzle from Crafts on Sea

Stick and Nature Paint Brushes from Messy Little Monster

Yarn Sticks Teepee Tealight Holder from Zing Zing Tree

DIY Pick Up Sticks Game from ET Speaks from Home

In The Playroom

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Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.