I heard about these links and patterning cards and went around the island in search of them, but not surprisingly I came up empty handed. That's one fun benefit of living in a place where resources and selection is limited - you're forced to become inventive!
I realized the links are really nothing more than paperclips without the clip. :) The point is the link and you can certainly do that with paperclips! And the cards were easy enough to create (in Word). James will use the them as a guide to create various patterns (ABAB, AABB, etc.).
I'm making these cards available to you - just click this link to download. As with all of my printables, these are for your personal use only. Please do not sell or offer them in a giveaway. Thank you!
Oh and here's another paperclip activity James came up with. He began creating letter and number shapes with the clips, so I dug out these jumbo cardboard numbers for him to use as a template. BIG hit! (FYI, I *think* the cardboard numbers were found at Michael's Crafts.)
~Thank you for your comments!~
very cool!! We will have to do this soon :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this! D would love it.
ReplyDeleteThank you SO VERY much for the free printables that you share. I am moving down to pre-k this year and the printables you have shared have saved me soooooooo much time in all of my prep for my classroom! I love this idea and can't wait to use it! I am so very thankful for all the ideas, photos, and printables you share. I am so glad I found your blog a few weeks ago.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mari-Ann! In Croatia there is no plastic links, but we have a different colored paper clips too :-)
ReplyDeleteI came up with the idea of subbing colored paper clips, too, only to find that they were beyond my 3 year-old's fine motor skills. Then, I bought the Learning Links online. ;) I found free patterning cards for them ... I believe they were from Making Learning Fun or the PreKinders web site.
ReplyDeleteWhen he's getting really good at them, we'll switch to the colored paper clips, though we only have four colors. Thanks for making these cards available!
LOL I never knew the boredom busters I did at work had any educational value. Thanks again for the idea!
ReplyDeleteI love this idea! I will definitely be doing this with my son in the future!
ReplyDeleteI love that James came up with an alternative activity all on his own. Watching children's thoughts and creativity is simply amazing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your adventures and techniques with us!
I love this idea! Actually...lots of awesome ideas! I am trying to download the link, but it says there is an error. Am I doing something wrong?
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Heather
That James takes after his creative momma!
ReplyDeleteLove this. Thanks so much for the printables. I am in the same situation but even smaller island and less resources! Hopefully I can even find colour paperclips :-) Think my kids will love this one if I do.
ReplyDeletea real clever idea its like the threading bead cards i love it
ReplyDeleteThese are fun!
ReplyDeleteI started a link-up for those who share printables. Please feel free to link-up today with one of your free printable posts! :)
Ami
www.walkingbytheway.com
I had to bring a sick child to work with me today. Thank you for sharing this. I can see this keeping her occupied for quite some time!
ReplyDelete