Math Monday - Patterning

This is from the Ontario Government's Early Math Strategy:

Tips to help your child learn math:

Be positive about math!

• Let your child know that everyone can learn math.
• Let your child know that you think math is important and fun.
• Point out the ways in which different family members use math in their jobs.
• Be positive about your own math abilities. Try to avoid saying "I was never good at math" or "I never liked math".
• Encourage your child to be persistent if a problem seems difficult.
• Praise your child when he or she makes an effort, and share in the excitement when he or she solves a problem or understands something for the first time.

To try at home:

We find patterns in nature, art, music, and literature. We also find them in numbers. Patterns are at the very heart of math. The ability to recognize patterns helps us to make predictions based on our observations. Understanding patterns helps prepare children for the study of algebra in later grades.

• Look for patterns in storybooks and songs. Many children's books and songs repeat lines or passages in predictable ways, allowing children to recognize and predict the patterns.

For Example in Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See (by Eric Carle) , there is the same pattern of words over and over as well as the repeating rhyming words "see" and "me" at the end of each line.