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Four Squares More Squares® brings geometry to life in the Pre-K classroom. The colorful, chunky Big Pieces appeal to children. They invite
handling, arranging, and rearranging. They also stretch children’s spatial awareness. The single square Little Pieces expand the fun and make
the activities accessible to this age group. The product grows with the child as the skills advance from counting and matching to patterns,
graphing, and beyond!

Four Squares More Squares Set

Take a look at the Big and Little Pieces and imagine the playful learning opportunities.
• 24 Big Pieces Shapes made up of 4 squares; Each shape has its own color(s).
• 60 Little Pieces Single squares; 10 of each color provide variety.
• 12 Boards Laminated Pattern Boards are the background for making rectangles, squares, and steps.
The square and rectangular boards have two sides:
the puzzle side with outlines for specific pieces, and the plain side for free arrangement of shapes.
• 6 Colors Red, yellow, blue, orange, green, purple make for easy sorting.
• Scoring Lines on each Big Piece show the 4 single squares.
An “X” on one side of each Little Piece distinguishes front and back for easy counting and placement on the boards.
Get started using the 10 activities in this booklet. Create your own activities and let the children teach you theirs. Share your ideas with others
through our website—hwtears.com/foursquares.

Explore

© 2011 Learning Without Tears

The Explore section of each activity allows children to manipulate the shapes freely as a teacher asks guiding questions. They build
oral language skills as they talk about what they are doing with the shapes. They also develop stronger spatial awareness (geometry) and
social/emotional skills as they experience concepts through cooperative play.

Look What We’re Learning

We're learning puzzles, shapes, and much more! See the bottom of each activity for the specific skills addressed.
© 2011 Learning Without Tears
How Many Squares? Children use Little Pieces to find out how many squares make up a Big Piece.

Get Star ted: Activity

Place all pieces in stacks by shape and color.
Gather paper and crayons for tracing.
Let's cover a Big Piece. How many Little Pieces does it take?
• These are Big Pieces. Show children the different pieces. These
are Little Pieces. The Little Pieces are squares. They have an X
on one side. Hand out Big and Little Pieces for children to feel
and explore.
• Give children materials so they can trace the different Big Pieces
and color them to match.
• Give groups of 4 children a yellow Big Piece and 4 Little Pieces.
Use Little Pieces to cover this Big Piece. Count how many you
need to cover it. Have each child place a Little Piece
to cover the Big Piece.
• Hold up a red Big Piece. How many Little Pieces do you think it
will take to cover this? (It takes 4 Little Pieces to cover 1 Big Piece.)
• The name of this kit is Four Squares More Squares. Why do you
think it is called that? What else can you think of that has 4?
(4 legs on a dog, 4 wheels on a car, 4 legs on a table)
Have children share their ideas.

© 2011 Learning Without Tears

Explore
Have Big Pieces of all colors available for children to play with.
Have them use Little Pieces to cover each Big Piece.
Do all the Big Pieces take 4 Little Pieces to cover them?

Look What We’re Learning Data/Probability Predict outcomes

Measurement Explore area
Sensory Motor Use fingers to hold crayon
Sensory Motor Uses helping hand to stabilize objects and papers
Vocabulary how many, cover
 Look, I Made a Flower! Children use Big and Little Pieces to make pictures and describe them.

Get Star ted: Activity

Place all pieces in stacks by color for children to use.
How can you use Big and Little Pieces to make a picture?
• Let’s make a flower. Have children pass you pieces to place.
• Let’s start with the center. Who can find the red Big Piece?
Have a child find the piece and put it in place. Next, we will add
purple Little Pieces around the center. Have children take turns
following directions and placing the pieces to make a flower.
Use terms such as: top, bottom, above, below, left, right, next to,
and middle.

Explore
Have children use Big and Little Pieces freely to make designs.
Ask children about their designs or pictures.
What are you making? (What did you make?)
What did you do first?
What color is at the top?
What is below that piece ?
© 2011 Learning Without Tears

Look What We’re Learning Geometry Identify and describe shapes

Geometry Describe position and location
Patterns/Algebra Sort by color; sort by shape
Social/Emotional Take turns
Vocabulary top, bottom, above, below, lef t, right, next to, middle
What's My Pattern? Children use Little Pieces to create, extend, and describe patterns.

Get Star ted: Activity

Stack Little Pieces by color on table for children to use.
How can you make a pattern using Little Pieces?
• Make an AB pattern with Little Pieces. Build so children can see
the left-to-right row. This is my pattern. Read the colors to me.
Have children say colors as you point to each piece from left to right.
• What comes next? Have a child place the next Little Piece.
Continue until all children have had a turn.
• Hand out Little Pieces of two other colors, one for each child. Children
line up by color to make a second AB pattern. They say their color
names aloud in order as they place their pieces in a left-to-right row.
• Have children describe the pattern. What part repeats?
• Have children stack their Little Pieces to make a tower. Start by
moving the farthest left piece forward for the base. Going left to right,
have each child take the next piece and place it on top of the stack.
What happened to our pattern? Is it still a pattern? (The pattern
is the same. We moved the pieces but kept the pattern.)

Explore
Have children use Little Pieces to make simple color patterns.

© 2011 Learning Without Tears

How many Little Pieces are in your pattern?
How can you continue your pattern?

Look What We’re Learning Patterns/Algebra Create, extend, and describe patterns
Social/Emotional Work with others to solve problems
Vocabulary pattern, repeats
 Shape Sandwiches Children match and stack their Big Pieces by moving them in different ways.

Get Star ted: Activity

Give out red, yellow, and blue Big Pieces, one per child. Let’s make jam sandwiches with our shapes.
• Find a friend with the same color.
The Big Pieces are bread.
• Pretend to spread jam on the bread.
• Place one piece of bread on the table.
slide • Put the top on the sandwich. Move it so the corners match.
Children have to slide, turn, or flip shapes.
• Have children take turns showing how they moved their shapes
to match. What did you do to make the corners match?
Encourage them to use words to describe their moves, such as:
turn I turned my Big Piece around so the corners match.
Have children trade pieces. Repeat the activity.

Explore
Have all Big Pieces available for free play.
Can you make stacks with all 6 Big Pieces?
© 2011 Learning Without Tears

How many red can you stack?

What piece has two different colors?
flip

Look What We’re Learning Geometry Match shapes

Geometry Explore transformations: slides, flips, and turns
Patterns/Algebra Sort by color; sort by shape
Social/Emotional Work with others to solve problems
Vocabulary same, corners, match, slide, turn, flip
Puzzle Moves Children explore movement. They find and place pieces on a puzzle.

Get Star ted: Activity

Have stacks of Big and Little Pieces in all colors on table.
Place a 2 x 3 Pattern Board in front of each pair of
children with the puzzle side up.
How can you move Big Pieces to fit them on a puzzle?
• Let’s do some puzzle moves.
Let’s slide. (Sit and scoot forward.)
Turn (sit and spin) and flip (lie flat on backs and roll over.)
Demonstrate moves. Then have children join you.
• Have pairs work together. Look at your board. The shapes are
outlined. One of you will place the Little Pieces now.
• Which Big Piece will fit on your puzzle? Have the other partner
choose the shape that fits and move it onto the board.
• Have children ask for and pass pieces that are not within reach.
• Ask children to tell you about their pictures. Have them take
turns with different roles.

Explore
Have children try other 2 x 3 Pattern Board puzzles. Have them place the
Little Pieces first, then the Big Pieces. Give them paper copies of the boards
to color their solutions. They can describe their designs to each other.
How can you move your pieces to fit on the puzzle?

© 2011 Learning Without Tears

How many Little Pieces did you use? How many Big Pieces?

Look What We’re Learning Geometry Explore transformations: slides, flips and turns
Geometry Match shapes
Social/Emotional Imitate body movements
Social/Emotional Work with others to solve problems
Vocabulary puzzle, slide, turn, flip, how many
 It's a Puzzle! Children use Big and Little Pieces to complete puzzles on their Pattern Boards.

Get Star ted: Activity

Have Big and Little Pieces in all colors on the table for
children to use. Place a 2 x 3 Pattern Board in front of each
pair of children with the puzzle side facing up. Have the
3 x 3 Pattern Boards close at hand.
How can you work together to fill the Pattern Board?
• Have pairs of children work together. Which Big Piece fits the
puzzle on your card? One partner places the Big Piece on the
shape outline. The other partner places the Little Pieces on the Xs.
How many Little Pieces did you use to cover the Xs?
• Remind children that they may need to move the shape in different
ways to make it fit, such as: slide, turn, or flip it. Repeat the activity
using different 2 x 3 boards.
• Now, place a 3 x 3 board in front of each pair. Have pairs take turns
matching shapes to the outlines. How many squares are on this
Pattern Board? How many Big Pieces did you use? How many
Little Pieces did you use to cover the Xs this time?

Explore
Place all the 3 x 3 square Pattern Boards on the table with the
puzzle side facing up. Have children work together to place Big Pieces on
all of the boards, then fill in the Little Pieces.
Can you find a place for each Big Piece?
© 2011 Learning Without Tears

Were there any Big Pieces that did not fit?

Why didn’t they fit?

Look What We’re Learning Geometry Match shapes

Measurement Explore area
Social/Emotional Take turns
Vocabulary puzzle, shape
Let's Take Turns Children use Big and Little Pieces to complete rectangles or squares.

Get Star ted: Activity

Stack Big and Little Pieces by color for children to use.
Can you fit your Big Piece onto the Pattern Board?
• Give pairs of children a 2 x 3 board with the plain side facing up.
The first partner places one Big Piece on the board. The second
partner places two Little Pieces on the board. Have children
switch roles and repeat several times.
• Now try placing one Little Piece first. Have one partner place a
Little Piece. Find a Big Piece that fits in the space that is left.
• Have the child with the Little Pieces place the last one on the board.
How can you find the piece that will fit? Children can switch roles
and try placing the Little Piece in different positions.

Explore
Give pairs a 3 x 3 board with the plain side up. Have stacks of Big and
Little Pieces in all colors on table.
How many squares are on this board?
Which Big Pieces can you use together to fill the board?
Are there some that don’t go together?
Is there one color that will not fit on the board?

© 2011 Learning Without Tears

Look What We’re Learning Geometry Match shapes
Measurement Explore area
Social/Emotional Take turns
 Checkerboard Quilts Children use Little Pieces to copy and create patterns on their Pattern Boards.

Get Star ted: Activity

Have Little Pieces of all colors on the table for children to
use. Make a sample checkerboard pattern using 2 colors
on a 3 x 3 Pattern Board. Place another 3 x 3 board on the
table with the plain side facing up.
How can you use Little Pieces to make this pattern?
• Look at this design. It is a checkerboard pattern. Let’s make the
same design on this board. Help children copy the checkerboard,
taking turns. Start at the top left corner. Continue with middle and
bottom rows, working from left to right.
• Let’s “read” the pattern. Starting at the top, read the colors in
row from left to right. It will make an AB pattern. Point to each
Little Piece as you say the color name in unison.
• This time, let’s begin with the 4 corners. Clear one board,
keeping the model. Students take turns placing the Little Pieces.
Have children point to each corner as they count them. What color
are they? Have children find the color and put the Little Pieces in
place. Have children continue placing pieces to finish the pattern.

Explore
Tell children about quilts. Have children make quilt squares using 3 x 3
boards and Little Pieces. Have photocopies of the board for children to
color their designs.
© 2011 Learning Without Tears

How can you use Little Pieces to make your own quilt square?
How do you know where to put each color?
Connect all of the papers into a large quilt and display. Have children tell
about their creations.

Look What We’re Learning Number and Operations Count to 10

Patterns/Algebra Duplicate and create patterns
Vocabulary corner, top, bottom, middle, lef t, right
Step by Step Children create step designs on Pattern Boards by adding one more Little Piece to each column.
Get Star ted:
Give each child a 3-Step Pattern Board. Have Little Pieces
of all colors for children to use.
Look What We’re Learning Measurement Compare height
Measurement Explore area
Patterns/Algebra Identify a simple growing pattern by describing the change
Number and Operations Explore addition concepts
Vocabulary one more, column
Activity
How can we make steps? Let’s find out!
• Let’s place 1 Little Piece. Place 1 Little Piece on the 3-Step
Pattern Board. The single square is on the left. Have children place
1 Little Piece.
• Will one Little Piece fill the next column? (no) How many do
you need for this column? Have the children choose 2 Little Pieces
of a different color and place on their boards. We make steps by
adding one more.
• Will two Little Pieces fill the next column? (no) How many do
you need for this column? Continue until the steps are completed.
Let’s count the pieces in each column. We make steps by
adding one more.
• Turn the board over and use the 4-Step Pattern Board to
repeat the activity.
Explore
Put both 4-Step Pattern Boards together to form a pyramid with 8 across
the bottom. Point to the inside portion of both boards together. Have
© 2011 Learning Without Tears
children fill it in using Big and Little Pieces.
What are different ways you can fill in the shape?
Where can the green Big Piece fit?
How many green Big Pieces can you use?
How many shapes did you use?
 Our Favorite Things Children use Little Pieces to count their votes for their favorite things.

Get Star ted: Activity

Put red and yellow Little Pieces on the table for children to use.
Let’s see if more children in our group like apples or bananas.
• If you like apples better, take a red Little Piece.
If you like bananas better, take a yellow Little Piece.
• Have children move into 2 groups: one red, and one yellow.
Which group has more children? Let’s line up to compare.
Have children line up, matching one red with one yellow. The
group that has children left without partners has more. Which
group has more votes?
• Let’s line up our Little Pieces to see which group has more.
Have each child put his/her piece in a row by color. Which row
is longer? Which is shorter? The longer row has more pieces,
so more children chose that as their favorite.

Explore
Do more children in our class walk to school or use wheels, such
as a bicycle, car, or bus? Put out pieces of 2 different colors: one to
represent each choice. Have children vote by moving a piece into the
appropriate row.
© 2011 Learning Without Tears

Which row is longer?

How do more children get to school?

Look What We’re Learning Data/Probability Make a graph to represent data and answer questions
Measurement Compare length
Number and Operations Match one to one up to 10 objects
Social/Emotional Work with others to solve problems
Vocabulary more, compare, row, longer, shorter
Instructional Scope
Number is a fundamental way of describing. Number and Operations include quantity, counting, and mathematical operations.
• Match one to one up to 10 objects; count to 10
• Explore addition concepts

Geometry is the study of shapes and the space within and among objects.
• Match shapes; identify and describe shapes
• Describe position and location
• Explore transformations: slides, turns, and flips

Measurement is determining the size of an object. It connects geometry and number.

• Explore area
• Compare length; compare height

Patterns/Algebra are problem-solving strategies. Seeing and creating patterns is basic to algebra.
• Classify same and different
• Sort by color; sort by shape
• Create, extend, and describe patterns; duplicate patterns
• Identify a simple growing pattern by describing the change

Data/Probability includes organizing and analyzing information, then using it to judge how likely events are to occur.
• Predict outcomes
• Make a graph to represent data and answer questions

Social/Emotional skills are behaviors for relationships with others.

• Take turns
• Imitate body movements

© 2011 Learning Without Tears

• Work with others to solve problems

Sensory Motor skills involve the use of the senses and coordinated movement.
• Use fingers to hold crayon; use helping hand to stabilize objects and papers

Vocabulary is language for naming and describing math concepts, e.g., more, column, how many.
 Glossary
AB – a way of describing a simple repeating pattern, such as yellow, blue

area – the amount of space inside a shape

column – a linear arrangement that is vertical

data – information collected to find answers to questions

flip – turning over a shape to show its mirror image or reflection; a type of transformation

graph – a visual representation or diagram to organize data

pattern – a sequence that repeats again and again

probability – the likelihood or chance of an event happening

row – a linear arrangement that is horizontal

slide – moving a shape across a surface in one direction; a type of transformation

sorting – separating objects into groups or sets based on attributes

transformation – the movement of an object to another location, without changing its size or shape

turn – moving a shape by rotating it; a type of transformation

© 2011 Learning Without Tears
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© 2011 Learning Without Tears

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