Number patternsToday I showed the children examples of patterns in nature ( pine cones, leaf veins etc.) and they suggested some.  I then showed them how to make a sequence with natural materials and asked them to describe the pattern and continue the sequence. The children went off in groups and made their own sequences – we all visited each group and had to say how to continue each one. It was very cold so I allowed one guesser per group. After that  I formed larger groups ( 7 ) and asked the children to create a human pattern – e.g.  one person squats, one jumps then one does a star jump. Again we all visited each group but this time the audience had to continue the pattern. The children found working in such large groups a challenge so I was able to ask them to suggest ways to combat the problem of ‘everyone talking at once’, They did and 2 of the 3 groups remembered to take it in turns 🙂

If I did this again I would encourage the children to use at least 4 different materials per pattern. They had to repeat the pattern twice and some were too easy to guess.