Patterns With Forks and Spoons

Activity 21: Making patterns with shapes

Materials:

4 forks, 4 spoons, and a piece of paper with a “fork-spoon-fork-spoon” pattern that you have traced using a fork and spoon

Try It Out:

1. Place the paper with the pattern and the forks and spoons in front of your child.
2. Point to the paper and say, “Let’s play a pattern game. Here’s a pattern: Fork, spoon, fork, spoon. Can you match the forks and spoons to the pictures?”
   • If your child does the matching correctly, point to the items on the paper and say the pattern again. Then ask, “What comes next, a fork or a spoon?”
   • If your child can match the pattern and can say what comes next, try the activity with a traced “spoon-spoon-fork” pattern.
   • If your child cannot match the full pattern, say, “I see a picture of a spoon. Can you find a spoon and put it here?”

Making the Most of This Activity:

1. Try the activity using different objects.
2. Create patterns during daily routines. Try making a pattern using a “sock-shirt-sock-shirt” when folding laundry. Or try making 1 with a “towel-washcloth-towel-washcloth” at bath time.

Reflect:

Could your child tell you what came next in the pattern? If so, try again with more complex patterns.