As part of our unit on geometry we have been exploring 3-D shapes.  Children conducted several experiments with cubes, cylinders, cones, and spheres to see which shapes would roll and which shapes would stack.  Although results varied depending on how the experiments were carried out, as a class we concluded that shapes will roll on curved surfaces and that they will stack on flat surfaces.

Children also had an opportunity to try to build their own 3-D models using toothpicks, pipe cleaners, and model magic.  Creating models of the shapes provides practice with spatial reasoning and also helps children develop an understanding of each shape's important attributes (is it curved, how many vertices does it have, etc.).