Kid Math: Patterns

We read the Patterns book a few times but it was never a book that he picked off the book shelf for his choice.  I know that it is important to mix some real books in with the stories but my son still loves stories and characters that he can read about.  It isn't available through Amazon because it is only in library binding but you can see the link at Patterns (Mighty Math) by Sara Pistoia or check it out at your local library which is where I found my copy.

This book provides close up and whole pictures of animals talking about the pattern on their fur.  I would be a good book to read before the zoo so that you have something more to talk about at the zoo. 

It also used the pattern of the lines of jelly beans which my son liked because they did a pattern similar at school on the calendar.  It is also a good hands on project if you use jelly beans or any snack (not only candy if you are trying to limit sugar like we are) to make a pattern.  Then your child can finish the pattern or continue it before eating their special snack.  It seems to me something that can easily be added to a daily routine and made more difficult as the child gets older.

Then they talk about pattern on wrapping paper.  It would be a great art project to take a wrapping paper based on your child's drawing ability and put it in the middle of paper so that they could draw the rest of the pattern around.  It would even be a nice project before fathers day to wrap their father's day presents in!! 

Then they do the pattern of counting by one, five and tens as well as reading the calendar.  I don't have the room for a nice wall calendar like they have at school but we try to use the regular calendar to talk about what we are doing in the week and what we did last week as well as the the food we are going to eat during the week.  I think that we might give him his own calendar next year but I gave my mom my extra calendar this year because last year I had two that went to waste.  I never even thought that my son would love to play with a calendar but it is one of his favorite things to do!!!  If your kids are still learning the days of the weeks, you can outline the certain day in one color through the month so that they know that red means Monday even if they can't read.

We went with an old favorite of mine that my son pulled out of the closet:  Mastermind.  Ever played it?  Works for young and old minds alike to keep us thinking!!  We started with my little guy picking four different colors to put in and and then I put the colors in on the other side.  He told me how many I had right.  I got one white, none in the red, one in the black and one in the green and then none in the yellow so I explained how I knew that there was a blue one because I still needed four.  I put them in an order and he told me which ones were right so I moved around the other ones until he told me it was right.  We changed it up after we played a few rounds like this and we did other patterns with the colors.  Then, my son decided to take the next step and made them all one color.  It helped with logic and thinking so even though it is meant for 8 years old and up, I highly recommend making it a little easier and trying it with the preschool age children if you have it at your house!!

All parts of this books can be immediately put into action as different actions and crafts.  I hope that this helps you to find some fun activities to do with your kids this summer and throughout the year!!  I hope that you check out this book at your local library and see what your kids have to say about patterns.