Mama.Papa.Bubba. -
Menu
Skip to content
  • SHOP
  • preemie
  • baby
  • play
  • craft
  • learn
  • cook
  • DIY
  • kuwait
  • vancouver
  • contact
  • about

Tag Archives: patterns

LEGO Patterns Busy Box

10 / 9 / 1411 / 11 / 14

LEGO Patterns Busy Box | Mama Papa Bubba

Truth be told, I’ve never loved the name ‘busy box’.  Or ‘busy bag’ for that matter.  It’s ridiculous, I know, but I think I associate both with the term ‘busy work’ from my teaching days, which to me, is basically work {often of very little value} that keeps kids busy and out of the teacher’s hair.  Not my cup of tea.  I figure that if a teacher is going to expect her students to engage in some sort of activity or work, it shouldn’t simply keep them busy {that’s a waste of time} – it should engage them, challenge them, and teach them something worthwhile along the way – right??  Well, after looking at many, many activities labeled as busy boxes or bags, I learned that most of them do all of those things.  Most of them are fun, playful, and help little ones build on some sort of skill {or multiple skills at once}.  And yes, they are easy to pull out during times when you’d like your little one to play quietly and/or independently {while you shower, during restaurant and doctor’s office waits, during quiet time, etc.}, but that’s only because you’ve taken the time to prep the fun in advance – not because they’re anything like boring busy work.  And so, because I’ve finally made peace with the term, here’s our first busy box – a LEGO patterns busy box. ☺

Read More

8 Comments

Building Beaded Pattern Sticks

6 / 14 / 136 / 16 / 13

Building Beaded Pattern Sticks | Mama Papa BubbaIMG 8945The other day while picking up a few craft supplies, Miss G absolutely fell in love with these heart-shaped pony beads.  Next to them, we found tiny little wooden dowels that the beads fit onto perfectly.  At the time, I really had no idea what we’d do with the pair, but I knew we’d figure something out.  

IMG 8940Turns out, the answer was play with patterns!  I was quite surprised by how early on Miss G grasped the concept of patterns…  I remember being in the kitchen cooking dinner one night long ago and hearing Brad ask Grae about a pattern out in the living room.  I thought to myself, ‘she’s way too young to know what he’s talking about’, but sure enough she proved me wrong on the spot.  So since we really haven’t explored them all that much, I decided our beads and dowels would be perfect for it.  While Miss G napped today, I spent a little bit of time catching up on my RSS feed while colouring pattern stripes on the dowels with markers.  This time around, I chose to pattern the entire dowel, but next time around I’d probably just start the patterns in order to let her complete them on her own.

IMG 8943With my patterned sticks complete, I knew I wanted to stand them upright somehow.  Out came some homemade lemony play dough and the little pots we used for our flower garden yogurt parfaits, and voila.  Mission accomplished. 

IMG 8948When Gracen woke up, she immediately saw the little station I’d set out and was thrilled.  After a squeal and cheer, the first thing’Mama, I want you to tell me what to do’, but when I asked if she really wanted me to tell her what to do or if she wanted to just play, she decided she was happy to just play.

IMG 8949Of course she immediately realized that the colours on the dowels coordinated with the bead colours and began matching them up. (Just look at that little face… Makes me melt!)

IMG 8953Shortly after beginning the activity, I realized that the dough-filled pots allowed the dowels to sink down as she added beads, so I changed things up a little bit and just used a play dough pancake to hold the sticks up instead.  She realized that the stripes in fact made patterns, and ‘read’ each one out to me.

IMG 8955Not only has this activity been fun and great for discussing colours and patterns, but it’s also great fine motor practice too!  Fitting the tiny beads onto the tiny dowels requires some serious concentration.

IMG 8992This activity has been out for several days now, is still out currently (dried up play dough and all), and gets some decent attention each day…  A hit in my books. ☺

♥ 

For extra fun not always found on the blog, like us on Facebook here and find us on Instagram here. 

2 Comments

find us here

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Email

looking for something?

want our posts to your inbox?

popular posts

  • Frozen Ocean Animal Rescue {salt, water, & ice play}
    Frozen Ocean Animal Rescue {salt, water, & ice play}
  • Sand Play Dough With Loose Parts
    Sand Play Dough With Loose Parts
  • EASY Portable Activity Kit for Road Trips
    EASY Portable Activity Kit for Road Trips
  • Chunky Monkey Frozen Yogurt Bites
    Chunky Monkey Frozen Yogurt Bites
  • Make Ten {an easy card game for kids}
    Make Ten {an easy card game for kids}
  • Homemade Air-Dry Modelling Clay {aka baking soda clay}
    Homemade Air-Dry Modelling Clay {aka baking soda clay}
  • Portable Activity Kit for Little Travellers
    Portable Activity Kit for Little Travellers
  • Mermaid Necklaces
    Mermaid Necklaces
  • The Best {No Sugar Added} Banana Muffins
    The Best {No Sugar Added} Banana Muffins
  • Magic Mystery Painting
    Magic Mystery Painting

archives

Site made with ♥ by Angie Makes
Angie Makes Feminine WordPress Themes