Lessons during the formative years of a child are by far the most crucial in his entire stay in school. It establishes the foundation of his cognitive abilities. This is the reason why every teacher would do everything that she can in making her subject as interesting and as informative as possible. She would make use of objects and materials that would engage the child as best as she can. In math, patterns have become a staple in every teacher's curriculum.
Why patterns?
A pattern is defined as any sequence that appears in any given collection or situation at least twice. It's vital for a child to understand the concept of patterns. That is why pattern recognition has been one of the underlying concepts that have to be tackled during the child's early education. It's always present in the math subjects in kindergarten or preschool. A child must be able to identify and create patterns without anyone instructing him to do so. The most basic way to instill this lesson to him is through counting. He or she will be able to understand that it starts at 0 and ends at 9 then, it has to go back to 0. Once he starts counting that goes beyond 10, he will be able to grasp at least a part of the concept.
Through pattern recognition, a child will be able to easily understand the other concepts in math. Adding, subtracting will be easier to understand. He will be able to achieve a basic understanding that is needed in analyzing and solving word problems. Even with the use of, let's say, heuristic math method, solving a problem will prove to be a challenge if he cannot recognize patterns. He won't be able to follow a procedure if he doesn't understand that this step should come before or after another step.
Pattern recognition will instill a sense of self-confidence in the child. He will know what to do next without the need to constantly wait and ask for further instructions. He'll be able to predict what comes next. This will help him be confident to continue with his learning and try to tackle new problems. He need not be too dependent on his instructor and this will, in the long run, inspire him to want to constantly improve and learn new things.
Activities to Develop a Child's Pattern Recognition
Here are some activities that you can do with your child to improve his pattern recognition.
1. Beads
Bring beads of various shapes and colors. You can ask your kids to string the beads together following a pattern. Start with AB or ABC pattern and go from there.
2. Cut and paste
Bring different colored papers and scissors. Ask your kids to cut rectangular shapes out of the paper. You can do it further by telling them to do the shapes in an ascending order of height. It gets taller and taller before they have to start cutting the shortest rectangle again. This will test their skill to recognize sequence in colors and heights of objects.
3. Chalk drawing
They can draw at the black side of the illustration board. Use colored chalks and tell them to draw circles following the sequence of the colors of the rainbow. This will teach them to identify the sequence in colors.
4. Toys
Bring various toys. This will get them to understand the concept using real objects that they're interested in. Put them on the floor and arrange the toys in an ABC sequence - a doll then a vehicle then a book. Line them up and ask the kid to put the next object in the line. The dolls need not be similar. It's better that they're not. Just put different dolls. It'll help develop their recognition more.
Why patterns?
A pattern is defined as any sequence that appears in any given collection or situation at least twice. It's vital for a child to understand the concept of patterns. That is why pattern recognition has been one of the underlying concepts that have to be tackled during the child's early education. It's always present in the math subjects in kindergarten or preschool. A child must be able to identify and create patterns without anyone instructing him to do so. The most basic way to instill this lesson to him is through counting. He or she will be able to understand that it starts at 0 and ends at 9 then, it has to go back to 0. Once he starts counting that goes beyond 10, he will be able to grasp at least a part of the concept.
Through pattern recognition, a child will be able to easily understand the other concepts in math. Adding, subtracting will be easier to understand. He will be able to achieve a basic understanding that is needed in analyzing and solving word problems. Even with the use of, let's say, heuristic math method, solving a problem will prove to be a challenge if he cannot recognize patterns. He won't be able to follow a procedure if he doesn't understand that this step should come before or after another step.
Pattern recognition will instill a sense of self-confidence in the child. He will know what to do next without the need to constantly wait and ask for further instructions. He'll be able to predict what comes next. This will help him be confident to continue with his learning and try to tackle new problems. He need not be too dependent on his instructor and this will, in the long run, inspire him to want to constantly improve and learn new things.
Activities to Develop a Child's Pattern Recognition
Here are some activities that you can do with your child to improve his pattern recognition.
1. Beads
Bring beads of various shapes and colors. You can ask your kids to string the beads together following a pattern. Start with AB or ABC pattern and go from there.
2. Cut and paste
Bring different colored papers and scissors. Ask your kids to cut rectangular shapes out of the paper. You can do it further by telling them to do the shapes in an ascending order of height. It gets taller and taller before they have to start cutting the shortest rectangle again. This will test their skill to recognize sequence in colors and heights of objects.
3. Chalk drawing
They can draw at the black side of the illustration board. Use colored chalks and tell them to draw circles following the sequence of the colors of the rainbow. This will teach them to identify the sequence in colors.
4. Toys
Bring various toys. This will get them to understand the concept using real objects that they're interested in. Put them on the floor and arrange the toys in an ABC sequence - a doll then a vehicle then a book. Line them up and ask the kid to put the next object in the line. The dolls need not be similar. It's better that they're not. Just put different dolls. It'll help develop their recognition more.
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