Boardwalk Blast

What’s more fun than a summer day at the boardwalk enjoying an ice cream or trying your luck at the arcade? This week, kids created colorful repeating patterns to build their own popsicle-stick boardwalks, then used a straw to race a ball across the finish line – just like an old-fashioned arcade game!

Patterns aren’t just found on the boardwalk. They’re everywhere once you start looking for them. Try these simple activities at home together:

• Go on a pattern hunt. Look for repeating patterns on clothing, rugs, wallpaper, fences, brick walkways, or even leaves and flowers outside. Ask your child, “What comes next?”
• Build your own patterns. Use LEGO bricks, crayons, coins, cereal, socks, or snacks to create repeating patterns. Start simple (yellow, blue, yellow, blue) and make them more challenging as your child catches on.
• Got rhythm? Play your child’s favorite song and create movement patterns together! Try clap, stomp, clap, stomp – or jump, spin, jump, spin. See who can invent the silliest repeating pattern and get the whole family to join in.