Within my topic, free play, patterns are
endless. In the child development world, we teach through play and
within free play we set out all kinds of activities. For example, in
the “math area” I may put out pictures of different types of
transportation. However, I am not forcing the children or telling
them this is the math area and over here you will make patterns. In
fact I let the children explore the materials. Through exploration
the children create patterns on their own. For example, creating a
pattern like bike, car, bike, car, bike, etc. (a two-part pattern).
This is one of the other examples of why some parents may not
understand teaching through play. Although the children are playing teachers create many different centers throughout the classroom during this time. There might
be a math center, science center, construction, art, etc. In each
area there are many materials for children to choose from. It makes
it fun, but at the same time they are learning a lot. Sometimes
children can also create patterns with their snack. For example,
colored goldfish. Could be arranged by color, or by number, or by
alternating colors. The possibilities are endless. In the younger age
group this is a perfect time for them to learn all these concepts.
Then when they do come to kindergarten they already have a beginning
grasp of patterns. In kindergarten we always review patterns, but
then later the children notice them everywhere. They will often say,
“Ms. Larissa look a pattern (as they play with their snack or found
a material to use in the classroom to create a pattern).” This
helps my learners with patterns because they figure it out and
explore it on their own. Discovering what the world has, what they
can create, and what a pattern is.
Above I mentioned simple patterns that
the children create with objects around the classroom like the
transportation pictures. Next I will discuss my topic and patterns in
a more complex way. I am going to discuss the game Tenzi (a dice
game). This game comes with 4 sets of dice. Each set is a different
color and contains 10 dice. Instead of actually using Tenzi for the
game we are going to use the dice to create multiple different
patterns and break down the dice. This is similar to The Art of
Clean Up. Below are pictures of multiple ways that the dice can be
used to form different patterns. You can arrange them by the same
number (such as all fours), you can arrange them in order (1, 2, 3,
4, 5, 6), you can arrange them by color, etc. There are endless
possibilities. Children can use something as simple as dice and form
many complex patterns. Through play they are exploring and
discovering patterns in ways they may have not known before. In my
toddler class I put stickers and paper at a table. One child sat down
and began to place the stickers in such an interesting way. They were
stickers of people and he created a pattern by separating all the
different people and making consecutive lines. He was only two and
was already exploring and discovering patterns! It was truly amazing.
I believe that the cognitive tool of
patterning is to create and manipulate objects by taking them to the
next step of their original state. In my original pattern I thought
about the basic materials and patterns that I see students create in
the classroom. The use of toys, pattern blocks, snacks, and
manipulatives to explore and create various types of patterns. Next
with my new pattern I took one specific group of materials (dice) and
showed how many different ways they can be manipulated into different
patterns. This understanding impacts my topic because as I mentioned
last week many parents don't understand the theory or the ideas
behind teaching through play. This week I show one example of how
multiple subjects are taught throughout play using different
materials. Learning through play is fun! The children don't have to
sit through lectures, or hours of large group sessions. They get to
discover on their own what the world has to offer. They also get to
pick and choose how they use the materials in the classroom and be
creative. The international school I worked at overseas was called 3e
International school standing for Explore, Experiment, Express.
Children through play explore materials and experiment with them and
find ways to express themselves. Which helps them find multiple different ways to
show patterns within the classroom or in nature.
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