An easy way to incorporate hands-on fun with patterns in preschool!

As we continue to explore the letter K this week, the children worked on practicing their skills for identifying and making AB patterns with a kite inspired activity…

Introducing Patterns

Introducing patterns first begins with a hands-on type of activity and was followed up with an activity page.

The activity pages we use are usually something I have created on my own computer. They are specifically designed to complement a theme, skill, or process we have been focusing on over time.

Not every child was able to complete this activity page – or at least complete the page as directed – but that was okay. We want to introduce the idea of making patterns in many different ways.

More Patterning Fun

Before having the children attempt to try the activity page, we like to begin by having the children make an AB pattern with something more concrete. For this, we used construction paper bows and a “kite string” piece of yarn.

I missed the photo opportunity of the concrete part of the process so I just took photos of the materials to give you the idea…

Having the children physically manipulate the materials to make their AB patterns is an important step in the process.

Reinforcing the Patterning Process

The activity page is a nice tool to reinforce the concrete process but it should not be used as the actual tool for teaching the AB pattern concept in preschool.  Some preschoolers who can physically place the bows in an AB pattern will struggle when it comes to using a crayon to color or reproduce the pattern.

A Helpful Tip to Remember

If you would like to give this a try, I am including my Kite pattern in this post but don’t forget to cut out some construction paper bows and yarn too! Remember…

If you want me to discover..  then give me materials

If you want me to explore.. then give me opportunity

If you want me to learn..  then give me materials and opportunity