Building Shapes with Marshmallows and Toothpicks

Matthew: 3-D Cube 

     A mom's two favorite f-words are 'fun' and 'free.'  Well, at least on the PG list.  Recently, we had fun exploring 2-D and 3-D shapes using mini-marshmallows and toothpicks.  Pretty much your on hand pantry items.  I was inspired by Rachelle Rosenblit's fun and free download at teacherspayteachers.com store.  Additionally, I extended this idea to include tactile exploration of 3-D shapes.
   
     For our toddler, the main goal was to reinforce identification of 2-D shapes and number of sides .  As for our preschooler, we counted the number of sides and corners.  To my surprise and delight, Malcolm called his corners angles.  I'll credit his ace preschool teacher, Mrs. Maxon for his geometry vocabulary!  

You can imagine, Malcolm and Matthew ate a gazillion marshmallows during this activity. 

2-D shapes

3-D Tetrahedral Shape

 A FAMILY GAME NIGHT MEMORY
     During family game night, we competed to build the best bridge using marshmallows and toothpicks. Marlon (dad) and Michaiah competed against Malcolm, Matthew, and me.  Though my team had 3 players, I call foul. (Uh no offense to Malcolm and Matthew)  Needless to say, my team lost, as Matthew dismantled and Malcolm redesigned along the way.  I say it was worth the learning, laughs, and memories, despite the fact that Marlon can really gloat!

Do any of you have other ideas/experiences about teaching shapes?

Or, taught other concepts using toothpicks/marshmallows?