Get Them Thinking About Patterns
For young children, so much of the world is new and exciting. Each and every day they may see something they haven’t seen before or learn a word that wasn’t previously in their vocabulary. All of these new experiences build their minds. As parents, we should challenge their young minds to think about information so that they can use it in the future. One way to get kids thinking creatively is to use patterns.
Begin by collecting objects which the child will be able to identify and which can be used to create patterns. These could be round candy pieces, wooden shapes, silverware or just about any other objects which are similar. (Try to choose objects which have only one thing different. For example, you would not want to use red cubes and blue cylinders because the child may not know which detail is creating the pattern, the colors or the shapes.)
Start simple by using only two objects. Make some of the following patterns, one at a time, and ask your child, “What comes next?” (To identify patterns, we will use A and B to represent the two different objects.)
ABABAB
ABBABBABB
AABBAABB
Then, add in a third object (C), and try some of the following patterns.
ABCABC
AABBCC
ABCCABCC
You can see where the number of patterns which you can create is endless. As you work with your child, be sure to allow him to extend the pattern by adding more pieces rather than just saying the words. This will help them to actually see the pattern they are creating. Reading the pattern out loud will also help your child hear the pattern. You can also challenge them to create a pattern where you must determine what comes next.
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Written by BRWI Staff on July 10, 2009
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