Gumdrop Patterns

Activity for ages 4 to 7.

This festive gumdrop pattern sheet stretches students to create patterns of their own. AB, ABB, ABC patterns… they’re all there! The no prep activity is easy to differentiate making it perfect for preschoolers, second graders, and every age in between!

Getting Ready

To prep, I printed one copy of the record sheet for each child.

Since my kids were familiar with patterns, I wanted to stretch them a little bit further. So I printed the second version of the page on the back so that they’d also have the chance to design their own patterns from scratch.

I grabbed our stash of crayons and we were ready to start.

Note: This would be a fun opportunity to build patterns with hands-on manipulatives! Just give each small group a box of gumdrops and let them create.

We’ve talked a lot about patterns but I wanted to do a quick review before diving in feet first.

First, we talked about how patterns repeat.

Then I wrote down the letters AB and we used our bodies to act out a couple of simple AB action patterns:

stomp – clap – stomp – clap

tap – hop – tap – hop

I pointed back and forth between the A and the B as we switched our movements so that the kids could easily see that the pattern continued repeating. The letters were merely symbols for showing how many times we did the first thing and then the second.

After a few more examples, I wrote down a new letter combination: ABB.

We worked together to come up with a couple of action patterns that fit:

clap – clap – jump – clap – clap – jump

nod – nod – squat – nod – nod – squat

We acted out several more types of patterns and then I handed over the coloring sheet for them to complete.

Since the kids could use any color combinations that fit, there were countless possibilities.

For instance, my son made a red-blue AB pattern…

While my daughter decided to color hers yellow-green.

After completing the first side, it was time to stretch their thinking on the back. My kids wrote a pattern in the blank spot on the left and then colored a matching combination.

It was such an easy extension activity!

Grab Your Set

Ready to play? Click the big blue download button at the bottom of this post and then hop through the roundup to find more gingerbread activities your kids will love!

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

Gingerbread Write the Room // The Kindergarten Connection

Editable Gingerbread Board Game // Fun Learning for Kids

Gingerbread Man Theme Old Maid Card Game // Stay at Home Educator

Gingerbread Playdough Mats // The STEM Laboratory

Retelling the Gingerbread Man // Sara J. Creations

Gingerbread Man Printable Ten Frames // Fun A Day

Gumdrop Patterns // Playdough to Plato

How to Make a Gingerbread House Writing Craftivity // Literacy with the Littles

Gingerbread Problem Solving // Recipe for Teaching

Gingerbread Number Puzzles Freebie // A Dab of Glue Will Do

How to Bake Gingerbread Cookies Cut and Paste // Happy Days in First Grade

Gingerbread CVC Mats // Fairy Poppins

Holiday Gingerbread Syllable Sort // Mrs. Jones Creation Station

Gingerbread House I Spy // Teach Me Mommy

Gingerbread Sight Word Game // The Letters of Literacy

About
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Malia Hollowell

Founder at Playdough to Plato

Malia is a National Board Certified teacher who inspires educators with playful approaches to early childhood education. She earned her Master’s from Stanford University and has taught in Pre-Kindergarten through 2nd grade. Malia shares her motivating learning activities on her two popular teaching blogs Playdough to Plato and The STEM Laboratory.

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Gumdrop Patterns

Getting Ready