Higher level thinking and problem-solving skills, which are all part of helping your child get ready for kindergarten, can be developed at home, in the kitchen, with whatever is available. In this case, it’s some fruits and veggies used in a patterning activity. Patterning is an important skill for math, language and learning to read.
Use 2 different fruits; in the example in the picture, the pattern goes apple, pepper, apple, pepper. What would come next? Use other fruits and veggies as you prepare a meal or put away the groceries. to make the activity more challenging, let your child create a pattern. Try some more difficult sequences: apple, apple, pepper, apple, apple, pepper, etc. or apple, orange, carrot, apple, orange, carrot.
Learning activities do not have to be paper and pencil tasks. Patterning abilities underline many thinking skills and hands-on time is particularly effective for young children. (Or feet-on: walk, walk, hop, walk, walk, hop.) What other patterns can you and your child create?