Patterns for Lunch

Get ready to do this activity just before lunchtime.

What You Need:

• Several slices of bread
• Peanut butter and/or cream cheese
• Jelly
• Butter knife or plastic knife
• Paper towel

What You and Your Child Will Do:

1. Spread the peanut butter and/or the cream cheese and the jelly, each on a different slice of bread.
2. Cut each bread slice into four equal pieces.
3. (Begin a pattern by lining up a few of the pieces on the paper towel in front of your child. For example:

1. Help your child read the pattern above, for example, as peanut butter, jelly, peanut butter, jelly, peanut butter, jelly. Then ask, “What comes next?”
2. The child should choose another piece of bread with the appropriate topping and place it at the right end of the pattern to continue it.
3. Now rearrange the bread pieces to form other patterns like these. Be sure to repeat the pattern 3 times. Then for each one ask, “What comes next?”