Do you still remember we recently learned about patterns through stamping? This time, we are learning patterns through beading.
I don't have a step-by-step picture guide for this activity but the set-up is fairly easy.
You will need:
- paper (preferably white)
- hole puncher
- pipe cleaners (preferably white)
- pony beads
Steps:
1. Punch a few holes on the long sides of the paper.
2. Using a pipe cleaner, thread in some pony beads in a simple pattern, say AB pattern.
3. Ask your child to follow the pattern. He/She can use the same colors as you or choose different colors as long as he/she follows the pattern.
This is where pre-sorting the pony beads helps. It makes it easier for the child to pick out the colors to thread.
4. Once the child completes a pattern, put the pipe cleaner through the holes of the paper and twist the ends to secure it.
We did counting in this activity too as I instructed the APG kids to have a specific number of beads per pattern.
5. Do a few more different patterns together.
White paper and white pipe cleaners make the colors of the beads more obvious. But if you are using solid colored pony beads then it doesn't really matter.
We started with an easy AB pattern. When slowly increasing the number of colors in the pattern, the difficulty of the activity increases. Explore as many patterns as you like!