Puzzle Piece Picture Frame

If your child enjoys playing with puzzles, you probably know all too well that sometimes orphaned pieces show up. Put those mismatched pieces to use by creating a funky frame with your kindergartner! This activity will let your child practice making patterns, an essential kindergarten math concept. Patterning helps kindergartners practice shapes and colors, and is an easy skill to practice at home!

What You Need:

• 15-20 puzzle pieces
• Wooden frame
• Paintbrush
• 4 colors of paint
• Wood glue

What You Do:

1. Hand your child a paintbrush and let her choose her favorite color, and then have her paint the wooden frame.
2. As the frame is drying, have your child divide the puzzle pieces into 3 to 5 piles, and don't worry if one pile has a few more pieces in it than another one does.
3. Invite your kindergartner to pick a few different colors (two different colors if your child is just learning patterns) and paint the puzzle pieces in each pile a different color.
4. When the paint dries, invite your child to experiment with patterns. For example, ABCABC would be a simple pattern she could use, but remember that she'll be learning about different kinds of patterns in school, such as AABCAABC, AABBCC, and AABAAB, so let her pick whichever one she feels the most comfortable doing.
5. Once she's experimented with a few possibilities, let her choose her favorite and then help her glue the pieces onto the frame in that same pattern, repeating it all the way around.
6. After the glue has dried, help your child find a photo to put into the frame. You can keep it if you want to add some flair to your house, or send it to a relative as a gift! Build off of this activity by patterning coins, beads, or food to extend her knowledge of patterns.