Math Skills: Patterns

Of all the early math concepts, learning about patterns was my favorite. "Oh look, it's a pattern," became a frequent phrase in our family. I was about to say, "in our house," but the truth is patterns are everywhere. In the grocery story, in the hardware store, in the library, at the museum, you'll find patterns in books, on the floor, on the walls. I guess people like patterns.

Books About Patterns

Pattern Bugs by Trudy Harris

This story has beautiful artwork and poetry. The bugs, the frames around the pages, and even the words of the poetry follow patterns.

Pattern Fish by Trudy Harris

Like her book on bugs, there are visual and word patterns throughout the book.

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle

This is another book with rhythmic word patterns along with a fun theme.

Activities with Patterns

Activity #1

Point out patterns everywhere you go. Walking up some brick steps to get to a museum, I noticed the bricks were laid in a special pattern, and once we got to the landing, the pattern changed. I pointed this out to M & R, and they were hooked, finding patterns everywhere. "Look, mom, it's a pattern," they would say excitedly. You can find patterns on almost anything:

* Wallpaper

* Clothing

* Food Labels

* Book Covers

* Quilts

* Floor Tiles

Activity #2

Take a nature walk. Observe patterns in nature (i.e. leaves, spider webs, flowers, animal tracks). You can even build a nature journal documenting the patterns that you see.

Activity #3

Watch for word patterns in books, poems, and songs. For example, the Big Bad Wolf says, "I will huff and I will puff and I will blow your house down," or there is the response from the pigs, "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin."

Activity #4

Decorate for holidays and birthdays with paper chains or streamers. Alternating between red and green makes a simple Christmas pattern, or you could use pink, red, and white for a more complex Valentine's Day decoration. Or hang streamers of various colors in a window as another pattern decoration for a birthday party…or just because it is a beautiful day.

Activity #5

Rhythm pattern (clap, stomp, clap, stomp) and action pattern (stand, sit, jump, stand, sit, jump) games can be as simple or as complex as you would like them to be. Take turns with the kids on who builds the pattern.

Activity #6

Using colorful beads, string them on yarn to make necklaces. By now, the kids know what a pattern is, so let the kids build their own designs.

Activity #7

Paint a series of shapes in various colors across a piece of cardboard. Tell a story about your picture using pattern words. Makani painted a series of patterns, calling them animal tracks, and then she painted a storm that wreaked havoc with the whole pattern.

Activity #8

Build colorful pattern towers using interconnecting blocks of various colors.

Activity #9

Weave potholders on a loom. Both the colors and the weaving motion reinforce the pattern concept.

Activity #10
Play with your food! Line up your M&M's in colorful patterns.