DIY Pattern Puzzle: Help your toddler learn to tell things apart.

  • Jul 21, 2021
  • DIY Pattern Puzzle: Help your toddler learn to tell things apart.

    Does your toddler ever get confused between orange and red? Or the alphabets b and d? Don't worry! There could be a simple reason this happens.

    Children who are still learning visual discrimination can easily get confused between two things that look similar because multiple skills need to come together to help them tell things apart.

    Identifying differences is just the first step to visual discrimination. It has to be paired with cognitive skills such as sorting, ordering, and matching for children to use it in everyday life. From telling apart their toys to being able to write alphabets and numbers, this set of skills is important for your child to play and learn.

    In the past few weeks, we have covered many visual discrimination activities in our co create series such as colour sorting and spatial awareness. Adding to the list, this week's activity is a colourful Pattern Puzzle!

    Benefits of the Visual Discrimination Pattern Puzzle

    This week’s activity is once again brought to you by Disha Shah, a DIY blogger and mom to 3-year-old Tvisha. You can see Disha’s previous activity, a Pre-Writing Board, here.

    This activity is called a Visual Discrimination Pattern Puzzle and half the fun of this game is making it! It gives your child a chance to draw, colour, and explore their artsy side. It's easy to play but has many benefits for toddlers and preschoolers. 

    1. Visual discrimination skills - Being able to tell apart the shapes, patterns, and colours will help develop your child’s visual discrimination skills.

    2. Fine motor skills - Cutting, colouring, and moving about the tiny circles will hone their fine motor skills.

    3. Hand-eye coordination - Placing the right circle in the right spot will sharpen their hand-eye coordination.

    4. Problem solving skills - Figuring out the right circle for each grid space will hone their problem solving skills. 

    5. Concentration skills - Completing the entire game will take time and patience. This will strengthen your child’s focus and concentration skills.

    6. Learn shapes, patterns, and colours - Drawing, creating, and playing this game will teach your child about different shapes, patterns, and colours.


    Creating the Pattern Puzzle 

    Age Group:

    This activity can be enjoyed by children between 2.5 to 5 years.

    Materials required:

    1. A piece of cardboard

    2. A few A4 sheets/white chart paper

    3. Scissors and glue

    4. Black marker

    5. Coloured crayons

    How to create the puzzle:

    1. Take the cardboard and paste an A4 sheet or white chart paper on it.

    2. Draw even rows and columns with a black marker.

    3. In the top row, colour each grid space with 2 shades.

    4. In the first column, draw different circular patterns in each grid space.

    5. Cut circles from the chart paper in the size of the grids.

    6. In each circle, replicate one of the patterns from the column with a colour combination from the row. Make sure you have all the patterns in all the colours.

    How to play with the Pattern Puzzle

     

    Once you are done creating this fun game, all your child has to do is match the pattern and colour and place it in the respective slot on the grid. Sounds simple? Try it out with your little one right away!

    We hope you’ve enjoyed this activity. If you would like to share your experience playing this game, tag us at #CoCreatewithshumee. Stay home and stay safe!

     


     

    Disha Shah is a DIY blogger who creates smart play ideas for children. You can follow her @momkid.smartplay on Instagram.

     

    Leave a comment

    Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.