I am a 12-year-old student in Tokyo. I like to look at things around me. Everything has a shape. Tables are square. Balls are round. Trees are tall and thin. Shapes make the world interesting. Some shapes are simple, like circles. Some are hard, like stars. I see shapes in my house, school, and nature. I want to learn more about shapes. What kinds of shapes are there? Why do objects have shapes? How do shapes help us? I write this to share what I find about the shapes of objects. Shapes are everywhere, and they make life fun.
Shapes are the way things look. Basic shapes are circle, square, triangle, rectangle, and star. A circle is round, like a sun or a coin. A square has four equal sides, like a book. A triangle has three sides, like a piece of pizza. A rectangle has two long sides and two short sides, like a door. A star has points, like a star in the sky. Shapes can be big or small. They can be flat, like a paper, or solid, like a box. I draw shapes in my notebook. They are easy to see and fun to make.
Shapes are in nature. The moon is a circle. Mountains are like triangles, with a point at the top. Leaves are oval or heart-shaped. Bees make honeycombs with hexagon shapes, which have six sides. Spider webs are circles with lines inside. Rocks are round or sharp. Water drops are round because of how water sticks together. Flowers have petals in star or circle shapes. I saw a round shell on the beach. Nature uses shapes to make things strong or beautiful. For example, hexagons in honeycombs use less wax and hold more honey.
Shapes are in buildings. Houses have rectangle doors and square windows. Roofs are triangles to let rain fall off. Tall buildings are rectangles or cylinders, like towers. Bridges use triangles because they are strong. In Japan, old temples have curved roofs, like waves. Castles have round towers or square walls. I visited Himeji Castle, and its walls are rectangles. In cities, buildings are many shapes, like cubes or tall sticks. Shapes make buildings safe and pretty.
Shapes are in daily life. My plate is a circle. My bed is a rectangle. My soccer ball is a sphere, a round solid shape. Cups are cylinders, tall and round. Books are rectangles, easy to hold. Clocks are circles or squares. My phone is a thin rectangle. Shapes help us use things. For example, round wheels on cars move smoothly. Square boxes stack well in shops. I like my round pencil case because it rolls on my desk. Shapes make things work better.
Shapes are in design. Designers use shapes to make things look good. Circles feel soft and friendly. Squares feel strong and neat. Triangles feel exciting and pointy. Car designers use round shapes for headlights. Phone designers use rectangles for screens. In Japan, bento boxes are squares or rectangles to fit food neatly. Logos use shapes too. A circle logo, like for a coffee shop, feels warm. A triangle logo, like for a sports brand, feels fast. I draw shapes for fun, and they make my pictures nice.
Shapes are in science. Scientists study shapes to learn about the world. In math, shapes are called geometry. Circles have no corners, so they roll. Triangles are strong because they don’t bend. In nature, animal shapes help them live. Fish are oval to swim fast. Birds have thin wings, like long ovals, to fly. In space, planets are spheres because gravity pulls them round. I learned in school that snowflakes are hexagons, all different. Shapes help scientists understand how things work.
Shapes are in art. Painters and artists use shapes to make pictures. Circles make soft images, like the sun or faces. Squares make neat patterns, like tiles. Triangles make exciting art, like mountains. In Japan, ukiyo-e art uses shapes like waves or rectangles for houses. Modern art uses strange shapes, like squiggles or stars. I like to draw round flowers and square houses. Shapes make art fun and colorful.
Shapes are in culture. In Japan, circles are special. The Japanese flag has a red circle for the sun. It means peace and light. In temples, round bells make sounds for calm. In America, stars are important. The American flag has stars for states. They mean freedom. In India, mandalas are round shapes for prayer. In Africa, triangle patterns are in clothes and art. They show strength. Shapes tell stories about people. I like how my culture uses circles to feel calm.
Shapes are in food. Cookies are round. Sandwiches are squares or triangles. Sushi is rolled into cylinders or cut into rectangles. In Japan, mochi is round for good luck. In America, pizza is a big circle, cut into triangles. Cakes are round or square. Shapes make food look nice. I like triangle onigiri because it’s easy to hold. When I eat, I see shapes on my plate, and it makes me happy.
Shapes are in sports. Balls are round, like in soccer or basketball. They roll and bounce. Hockey pucks are flat circles. Rackets are ovals for hitting balls. Tracks for running are long ovals. In Japan, sumo rings are circles. They are special for the sport. In America, baseball fields are like diamonds, a square turned sideways. Shapes help sports work well. I play soccer, and the round ball is fun to kick.
Shapes are in technology. Screens are rectangles, like on TVs or phones. Buttons are circles or squares. Cars have round wheels and rectangle windows. Robots have cube bodies or round heads. In Japan, bullet trains are long and thin, like cylinders. They move fast because of their shape. My computer mouse is an oval, easy to hold. Shapes make technology useful and nice to use.
Shapes are in nature’s animals. Turtles have round shells to stay safe. Fish are oval to swim. Birds have triangle wings to fly. Starfish are star-shaped with five arms. Snakes are long and thin, like lines. Animal shapes help them live. For example, jellyfish are round and soft to float in water. I saw a starfish at the beach. Its shape was pretty.
Shapes are in clothes. Shirts are rectangles when flat. Hats are round or oval. Shoes are long and curved to fit feet. In Japan, kimonos have straight lines and wide sleeves, like rectangles. In other countries, dresses are triangles or circles at the bottom. Buttons are small circles. Zippers are long rectangles. I like my round hat because it fits my head. Shapes make clothes comfortable and pretty.
Shapes have problems. Some shapes are hard to use. Round tables don’t fit in small rooms. Square boxes are hard to carry. In nature, bad weather changes shapes. Storms break round shells or triangle branches. People help by making strong shapes. Bridges use triangles to stand in wind. Houses use squares to stay stable. I learned in school that good shapes save lives in earthquakes.
Shapes are in games. Board games use square boards, like chess. Dice are cubes with numbers. Cards are rectangles. In video games, characters are many shapes. Mario is round and short. Robots are squares or cylinders. I play a game with round coins to collect. Shapes make games fun and easy to play.
Shapes are in my life every day. My desk is a rectangle. My clock is a circle. My lunchbox is a square. I see shapes when I walk to school—round signs, square windows, triangle roofs. At night, I look at the round moon. Shapes are everywhere, and they make things work or look nice. I draw shapes in my book, like stars and circles, because they are fun.
Shapes are special because they have meaning. Circles mean forever, like a ring. Triangles mean strength, like a mountain. Squares mean order, like a house. Every shape tells a story. In Japan, we fold paper into shapes, like origami cranes. They mean peace. I made a paper crane, and it was a triangle with wings. Shapes make the world beautiful.
I love shapes because they are all around me. They are in my room, my food, and my games. They help animals, buildings, and people. I want to learn more about shapes, maybe in art or science. As I write this, I look at my round pencil and square book. Shapes are like magic, making the world neat and fun every day.