Patterns are everywhere in our life. They are particularly useful in science and are often used to make predictions about what will happen (aka hypotheses). If you can see what is happening, you can use that knowledge to your advantage. It's a great way to start guessing about what's going to happen or come next.
The greatest thing about patterns is that they are super easy to come by. You can make many patterns with pieces of paper (colored, textured, etc), blocks (different shapes and colors), beads, colored pencils/crayons, toys (blue car, red car, blue car...), food (beans, pasta, fruit, veggie, etc), silverware, straws (big straw, little straw, bendy straw), and many more. So next time you're bored waiting somewhere, see if you can challenge your youngin' with what you have at your disposal. Create a pattern and see if they can continue. You can also use a pattern while stacking (I've been known to play the tower game at restaurants back in my day - I haven't yet introduced J to some of my childhood shenanigans).
Here's our short lesson on patterns (which turned into about an hour of pattern making/completing):
Two weeks ago, we were walking home from lunch and found a big box of free items up for grabs. There were lots of books and games. This particular box caught my eyes:
It's definitely not an English game, but it looks like Domino's. I figured this would be fun for science (cause and effect - totally didn't think about patterns).
J immediately requested we played, but it wasn't in the "let's set it up like the picture on the box" way. There were four colors, and J wanted me to make patterns for him to complete.
I tried to convince him that we can make patterns and still build things to knock down too.
Then we found the bobble people the game came with. I think their sole job is to knock things down.
This was one of our more fun evenings over the past few weeks. I'm thankful for this gem of a game we found.
What are some of the ways you have used patterns in your family?
I was introduced to GoldieBlox via their Kickstarter campaign back in September. A friend had messaged me the link via Facebook since I'm very pro-science/engineering and also a Stanford alum. It turned out the inventor of GoldBlox graduated Stanford at the time I was entering grad school. Her back story also involves a lot of volunteer service and a desire to get young girls interested in engineering. Based on my desires to spread the love of science to the younger generation, I thought I'd support the cause just for that reason alone, even if I didn't have a young girl, let alone a kid in the targeted age group (6+).
J (almost 4) loves to read and is very excited when it comes to activities that involve science, so though it is geared towards girls (pink, light blue, main character is a girl), I figured J would still enjoy it. He has yet to distinguish between boys' and girls' toys (something I hope lasts as long as possible). I also wanted to show J what an engineer can do, especially since I am one.
I waited with anticipation for the box to arrive (he had no idea that I had purchased this toy). It arrived on our doorstep this Wednesday, the day after they shipped it out (a benefit of being in the same area as the company). It was so quick that I didn't even receive a shipment notice!
Our neighbors joined us for this toy debut in our household. We all had fun. I ended up reading the story aloud and supervising the kids as they followed directions. I noticed the peg board has a star design, so I used that star to assist for the overall 5 point star pattern. It kept their attention for about 45 minutes while we read through the story and tried the star design and two alternate designs (also included in the book). There were lots of "oooh's" and "aaaah's" and giggling coming from our household. It was a hit, for sure!
Minor room for improvements: The story is short, which is probably good for more of a toy than literature. Katinka (the pink dolphin) almost came off as cantankerous. As a mom, my first reaction is, "Who wants to give a grouchy character what they demand?" The crank (well, everything) falls off too easily from the wheels, and the grooves to connect everything should be a little deeper to omit frustration. The pegboard is very soft and already has scratches from the little playing we've done. I liked the star pattern, but I also wish the star pattern was drawn on the instruction pegboard in the book, so J could visualize what it looked like with the star as a reference.
Today, I stayed home with sick J, and he requested to do GoldieBlox. I asked if he wanted to read the book and try the star design again or work on the alternate designs it came with. He chose the alternate designs. He loved playing with the designs and learning how to do it himself while getting a grasp on the terminology. He also learned, "When things are a little bit hard, I can ask for help." This is a great engineering lesson since teamwork is a great engineering skill to have. He also told me, "This is science. It needs to go with the science stuff [and not in his game closet]." Success! Anything that is related to science is considered cool in our house.
J made the GoldieBlox G
Again, he has no idea this is a toy designed for girls, but he does know that it's fun. I know there is a disparity of female engineers (I was one of the two girls in my mechanical engineering graduating class of 20+ in undergrad). I think GoldieBlox should be marketed towards everyone since as a nation, we are falling behind in all areas of science, math, and engineering technology. My boy loved it. I'd hate for someone to tell him that it's just a girl's toy.
All-in-all, I am looking forward to future versions of GoldieBlox and seeing how the company grows and develops.
3/15/13 - Edit: Addition 6:30p - When John got home from work, J requested he played GoldieBlox. J set up his own design and called it a butterfly. He wound up Nacho's wheel and guided the ribbon around Katinka and the posts. He then attached the velcro'ed ribbon end to a wheel with the crank, and then he wound up the next wheel to use. I'm pretty impressed.
Now my husband got all excited that he can create things of his own with the toy too. He basically made a carnival ride:
However, he did note that the holes in the wheels are a different distance than the holes in the pegboard which actually limits some sideways building capabilities. However, I'm now excited to see what else we can come up with using this new family toy.
Disclosure: I purchased this toy with my own personal funds. All opinions are my own.
P.S. J has a sudden new interest in his blocks. I wonder if it's because of GoldieBlox.
People ask me, "What is Pi Day?" My default answer is, "It's like St. Patty's Day, but for the nerds." Instead of green, we wear Pi embellishments, and we eat Pi(e) inspired foods (pizza pie, pot pie, fruit pies, etc). Some people might even go as far as making nerdy Pi drinks, like a PIna Colada or PIneapple juice. You also don't have to be a nerd to celebrate. Ok, maybe you do ;-).
Our homemade mixed berry pi(e) was a hit at my lab meeting and J's schoolmates loved the chocolate cream, Oreo pie.
I want a Pi Day family photo. Out of the last 4 years, we've managed two (2009 (pre-J) and 2011). Luckily, J was a willing participant in our photo shoot this year...
...if we allowed him one silly picture:
After the picture session, we went out for pie with a really good friend of mine, but at dinner/pie, J started feeling icky and couldn't finish his pie :-(. Nobody should be sick on Pi Day! I hope he feels better with a good night sleep.
Rest assure that I am currently sound asleep (or so I hope). I scheduled this to be posted at 1:59a to wish you a very Happy Pi Day (3.14159...)! If you miss it, it's ok to celebrate at 1:59p.
I will be sharing this I <3 Pi pie with my colleagues at work today. The minis will be given to friends.
J and John helped me make the pies. J had a blast with the pie crust: "It's like playdough!" I asked him if he wanted the I <3 Pi pie for his class or if he wanted the chocolate cream, thaw and serve, pie that I bought. Of course, there is no competing with chocolate when it comes to a 3 yr old. Good, because I promised my coworkers a mixed berry pie. I'm actually a little sad that I am missing J's school pi day for the first time since he's been able to eat pie. My normal lab meeting got moved an hour later, making me miss snacktime :-(. I'm sure J will represent Pi Day pretty well on his own (after all it was his first letter he recognized).
We're going to meet one of my good friends from high school for some pi(e) out after school/work today. It's nice to have nerdy friends.
J came up with this unique way to write his numbers. It starts with 0 up on the top right, then 1, and then he traced his fingers 2-5. 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are on the bottom row*. He's so creative.
On the way to dinner today, he repeated a version of his finger counting lesson and squealed with excitement about how much he likes counting. I was pretty excited about his counting too. At dinner, John told J that he (John) doesn't have to count the amount of fingers we hold up, he just knows (based on memorization). We then flashed a few fingers (5 and under) at J and told him to just say how many we were holding up. He did very well with all numbers under 5. Maybe we'll try 10 and under a different day.
*We're still working on the English way of reading and writing.
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