Playful Math: Post-It Note Patterns

If you’re anything like me, you’re always looking for rainy day activities to do with your children. I love it when we can find new things to do with what we already have around the house (especially if it really is raining outside!).

All you need to make these pretty post-it patterns are post-it notes (I recommend the “super sticky” kind) and a pattern key to follow. You can download the two we used here and here. Or, grab a sheet of graph paper and make your own picture! You could even make letters and numbers. I love how this activity seems like art, but secretly involves so many different areas of learning: color, counting, following a pattern, and hand-eye coordination skills.

To make your post-it pattern, simply follow your pattern key. We made ours on the wall (for the purpose of photographing it), but it might be easier to make your shape on a hard floor surface, especially for younger kids. Start in the middle of your picture, each square represents one post-it note. My kids are fairly young (2 and 4), so I placed the post-it notes as we went, but they told me where they should go, according to our key. Even though they could see the final shape on the key, they were still amazed when the project was finished on the wall!

If you’re worried about wasting paper, we were able to re-use the post-its after taking them off the wall. The girls played with them all afternoon, mostly making roads and trails on the floor leading to “treasure.”