I love finding and making fun ways to teach children that are also stress free. This pattern block learning activity came to me while I was reading one of my new favorite idea books ever. This book…oh my! The moment I started going through it, my brain entered creativity heaven. Plus it has the coolest title: 101 Kids Activities That Are the Bestest, Funnest Ever!.
For formalities I want to let you know that I requested a copy of 101 Kids Activities That Are the Bestest, Funnest Ever!, and the brilliant creators of it, Holly and Rachel (who are also the creators of the Kids Activities Blog), offered me a free copy in return for my opinions on it. Believe me this book is well worth paying for, so I am sharing my genuine feelings about it to you all.
Photo from 101 Kids Activities by Holly Homer and Rachel Miller, printed with permission of Page Street Publishing June 2014.
My inspiration for the pattern block game can be found on pages 126 and 127. It’s an idea to copy blocks in the copier to make a puzzle for children. Genius!! We love pattern blocks, so that’s what we are using here. All you do is place the blocks in the printer into whatever design you desire, put a white sheet on top of it (if needed), and out comes a great template for little ones to work with.
My particular template is a butterfly…well a little more than half of one. It is the butterfly template that came with our pattern block kit from Melissa and Doug. I wanted to make this game two-fold. First, children could match the corresponding blocks to the printed picture, and then if they want a little more of a challenge, they can complete the symmetry on their own to make a beautiful butterfly.
There are so many possibilities with this activity!! We are simple here, so this is a quick template I came up with to work on squares, rectangles, and hexagons.
If you like my variation on this activity, you will love how they really did it in 101 Kids Activities That Are the Bestest, Funnest Ever!. I wish that Holly and Rachel of Kids Activities Blog could have been my curriculum professors in my child development class. They are amazing at playing with their kids in ways that encourage creativity and ingenuity, all while have a blast!
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Love pattern blocks! Use these many ways in my classroom. I have several pattern sheets for the students to match. I love when they become creative and make their own objects from the blocks.
You sound like a fantastic teacher, K Smith. I always love hearing about open ended activities and encouraging creativity. Thank you so much for visiting!
I’ve been searching for activities like these. Being someone who doesn’t fare well in terms of blocks and puzzles, I wanted to make sure my kids didn’t inherit that weakness from me (LOL). This is just perfect.