Finding Hidden Shapes
Around Us

🎯 Objective: Sharpen students’ observation skills and stimulate their imagination by spotting hidden shapes in their environment.

👦🏻 Target Age: 5–12 years

⏰ Duration: 5–15 minutes per activity

🟡 Introduction: Imagination Transforms What We See

Looking is not just seeing. As soon as we open our eyes, our brain interprets what surrounds us. It connects shapes, colors, and shadows to give meaning to our perception.

When a child sees a dragon in the clouds or a face in an electrical socket, that’s called pareidolia: recognizing familiar shapes in blurred or ambiguous images.

These activities allow students to explore their surroundings differently, develop their sense of observation, and invent stories from what they discover.

Say to students to launch the activity:

🗣️ « Do you see things that others don’t? What if we went hunting for hidden shapes around us? »

🟢 Exercise 1: Faces in the Classroom

📎 Materials: None, just your eyes!

1. Objects Come to Life

  • Ask students to look around the classroom for objects that resemble faces (outlets, bags, windows, chairs...).

🗣️ « Shall we take a tour of the class to share our discoveries? »

📌 Variation: The Hidden Bestiary

  • Same principle, but this time look for animals in objects.

2. Changing Perspective

  • Turn a chair, tilt a book, look at a pencil case upside down...

🗣️ « What do you see now? Does it remind you of a character or an animal? »

🟢 Exercise 2: Exploring the Schoolyard

📎 Materials: A sheet to note discoveries.

1. In Living Elements: Trees, Clouds, Stones...

  • In the bark of a tree, do you see a face? In the clouds, a flying animal?

2. In Shadows and Ground Patterns

  • Look at the shadows cast by objects or people: do they look like something else?
  • Do patterns on sidewalks or walls form imaginary creatures?

📌 Variation: The Imaginary Zoo

  • In teams, write down all the invisible animals you find in the yard.
  • Compare your results: did you see the same things?

🟢 Exercise 3: The Environment’s Secret Alphabet

📎 Materials: Camera or sketchbook.

Look for Letters in Objects

  • Search for letter shapes in your environment:
  • An "O" in a keyhole or a wheel.
  • An "A" in a metal structure or crossing branches.
  • An "I" in a tree trunk or a lamppost.
  • A "U" in a door handle or a glass.
  • Photograph them or draw them. Then, gather the letters and try to form a collective word.

🟢 Exercise 4: Drawing Hidden Shapes

📎 Materials: Paper and pencils.

Photograph or Draw a Found Shape

  • Invite children to sketch the outlines of what they see without too much detail.
  • Organize a sharing session in small groups.

📌 Variation: Invent a Story

  • Imagine a short story about one of the faces or animals found.
  • Tell it to the class: who saw the same thing as you?

🟢 Exercise 5: Calissons

📎 Materials: Paper, pencils, possibly the online tool Calisson Game

A calisson is a diamond shape composed of two equilateral triangles. Several can be assembled to create strange figures.

1. Create a Figure

Assemble two or three calissons in different ways. Observe the resulting shape.

2. Tell a Story

Based on the resulting figure.

🟡 Examples

Some examples collected by a primary school student. What did they think they saw in these everyday objects? 📌 Photo collection