Miss Mary's Music Notes

Patterns

Has your preschooler noticed the many sequences and arrangements around her in the world? Day follows night, the kitchen tiles go white-black-white-black, snack comes after nap . . . Those are simple patterns! Soon after these informal understandings, your child begins to explore patterns in physical objects like colored blocks or differently sized cups. Your preschooler’s brain begins to grasp the rules behind patterns—she figures out the rule, sometimes figures out how to put the rule into words, and predicts what will come next in the pattern following this rule.

How It Works in a Kindermusik Class

In addition to working with patterns using physical objects, leading math educators recommend working with patterns of movement and sound. These experts explain that music is a great tool to engage children in exploring challenging math concepts, and that working with rhythms sets them up to understand patterns. 

From simple steady beats to complex rhythms and repeated choruses, music is filled with patterns. Kindermusik classes make rich use of music and movement to explore patterns.  I work to guide the group in listening for changes in a musical pattern—for example, when a clock’s steady tick-tock changes to the “bong!” of a chime. In echo songs, your child repeats a simple pattern and rhythm like “Hello Margie!”, “Hello Miss Mary!” etc. During instrument play-alongs, your child practices echoing the boom-boom (1, 2) pattern I play on a drum. And, in movement games, your child translates the 1, 2 pattern he hears from the shared instrument into a 1,2 pattern he makes with his body. (Can you believe this is getting your child ready for algebra?)

Developmental Milestones: Patterns

Preschool children demonstrate understanding of patterns and relationships when they:

-- Imitate a pattern of movement (clap, stomp, clap, stomp…).

-- Line up toy cars in a simple pattern (red, black, red, black…).

 -- Extend a pattern of colored blocks, e.g., adding red and blue blocks to an existing pattern of red, red, blue, red, red, blue.

-- Create or imitate a pattern of sound (shake-shake-shake, shake- shake-shake…).

-- Understand the sequence of events when Daddy explains, “First we plug the drain, then we run the water, and then we get in the bath.”

NOTE: Every child is unique, and different children may reach milestones at different times. If you’re concerned about your child’s development, talk to your pediatrician.

What You Can Do at Home

-- Brown Bear, Brown Bear. Read a story with repetitive text. After wards, playfully challenge your child to come up with new “pages” that match the repeating pattern.

-- Stuck at the Curb. Point out the pattern and sequence of colors on a traffic light: it turns green, yellow, then red over and over again. Or, try the same thing with the walk, flash, and stop symbols on a crossing signal. 

-- Paper Quilts. Make a simple “quilt” by cutting out different colored squares of paper. Start with patterns that repeat horizontally, then try cutting the squares into triangles for more challenge.

  

-- Follow My Lead. Make up a simple repetitive dance routine, narrating to your child as you move (“Stomp, tap, clap! Stomp, tap, clap!”), then see if your child can repeat the pattern. 

Excerpted from Kindermusik eBooks.  Full version available at www.kindermusik.com