Printable Pattern Block Activities

My post the other day about snowflake math activities included a couple of things using pattern blocks, which are great manipulatives to have on hand for kids to play with in quiet times at home or in the classroom. There are tons of printables you can use to challenge kids to build different things or inspire them to come up with their own creations.

123 Homeschool 4 Me has a great free collection of printable pattern block challenges, which shows what shapes to use and then asks kids to count how many of each shape they used. This is a good general collection that includes things like a giraffe, elephant, bicycle and bus. (Scroll all the way down on the page to find the link to the download.)

The printables from Preschool Mom help kids practice symmetry as they complete the image printed on half of the page. They also have some cute pattern block printables kids can use to make a single design or a repeating pattern.

If you’re looking for more winter themed projects, grab these mats from Ms. Moran’s Kindergarten, which include a hat, mitten, penguin and more.

Life Over C’s has a collection of ocean animal pattern block pages including a fish, octopus, whale and stingray. Each page also includes a place for kids to mark which image of the animal is different, and to mark out which shapes they used to make the animal.

You can find more animal mats in a free sampler from Pocket of Preschool’s Teachers Pay Teachers page. This one focuses on zoo animals and includes things like a gorilla, lion and elephant.

If you want to collect information from any pattern block sheet you might use, grab the download from This Reading Mama. It has pages for kids to chart how many of each kind of piece they use in a project, and to compare the use of different shapes across different mats.

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Snowflake Themed Math Activities

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

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Have you read?

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