Complex Winter Patterns: Fine Motor Skills Activity
In preparation for January, I put together a busy bag for my 1st grader to work on patterning skills. She has mastered the basic ABAB and AABB patterns and is ready for more of a challenge. The Complex Winter Patterns Fine Motor Skills Activity will build on what she already knows using a familiar format, but it also provides a challenge with pattern activity cards including ABCC/ABAA/ABCA, etc. The cards guide complex pattern recognition so they can’t fail! Your kids will love creating these pony bead patterns over and over. You’ll likely be sporting a new bracelet soon.
Recommended Grade Level:
Winter Bead Patterns Printable Supplies:
- Printer/Ink
- Laminating Supplies
- Paper Cutter
- Chenille Stems
- Blue & White Beads
Learning Pattern Building in Preschool & Kindergarten
EASY PONY BEAD PATTERN ACTIVITY FOR KINDERGARTEN
LEARNING TO RECOGNIZE, CREATE AND COMPLETE PATTERNS IS AN IMPORTANT EARLY MATH SKILL. SIMPLE PATTERN PRACTICE WITH HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES HELPS KIDS LEARN.
Recognizing patterns is often the first step toward teaching patterns to young kids. Look around the room! What patterns can you point out on bulletin boards, carpeting, or clothing?
What’s children can recognize a pattern, they can begin to create their own patterns with blocks, counting bears, beads, shapes, really anything!
I love the bead bracelet patterns because grasping and stringing the beads really works and builds those fine motor muscles in the hands and arms.
The pattern cards lay out each pattern in a step-by-step manner that allows for no-fail guidance! You’ll know when your child really understands patterns because they will be able to continue each pattern with ease.
As they complete the free bead pattern cards, try to get them talking:
- Can you name the pattern in colors/letters?
- What would come next?
- Can you make the pattern backwards?
- Can you find the same pattern somewhere around you?
What Can Children Learn While Making Winter Patterns?
COMPLEX PATTERN RECOGNITION
RECOGNIZING PATTERNS HELPS CREATE IMPORTANT NEURAL NETWORKS IN CHILDREN’S BRAINS.
Learning bead patterns will transfer later to other subject areas and skills, like:
- Numbers
- Social Studies/Science Concepts
- Letters/Decoding
Why Is It Important For Kids To Learn About Patterns?
Children are naturally curious about everything around them. Since our world is full of patterns, it’s an important concept to recognize and apply to lots of things, from math to seasons and weather.
Understanding what a pattern is: Learning simple bead patterns fills kids with the knowledge of what a patterns is: it repeats! So anything that repeats itself continually is a pattern. This is important background knowledge for kids to fall back on when learning new things.
Understand Cycles: Many things in our world are cyclical: life, seasons, and weather are a few examples. Understanding basic patterns gives kids knowledge of general cycles.
Connect with Numbers: The easier it is for kids to recognize patterns by shape and color, the more readily they will understand the number patterns found in our base ten number system.
Make Connections: Learning to extend patterns helps children be able to predict, hypothesize, or analyze what might be coming next in a variety of other situations.
How to Make the Winter Bead Pattern Cards
To Prep:
Print the pattern cards on card stock and/or laminate for durability. If you are only using them with one child or only want to use them once, you could print them on regular printer paper. I recommend laminating if you will use them more than once.
To Use:
Have your child put one kind of bead on each colored circle at the top of the pattern card. Then, follow the pattern by using the beads that are on the different colors.
With these cards you can repeat the same type of pattern using different beads and have it be a completely different style.
Ways to Extend this Patterning Activity
Make a Physical Pattern
Once the initial pattern from the card is established, ask your child to keep repeating it to make a bracelet.
Label It
Labeling patterns with letters is an important step in recognizing and extending patterns. Use a whiteboard to label patterns after making them with beads.
Make Your Own
Hopefully the cards might inspire kids to make up their own complex patterns that they haven’t seen yet on the cards.
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