• Re-create popular Halloween images using pattern blocks.Halloween witch. image by Saskia Massink from Fotolia.com
  
  Pattern blocks typically come in a set of assorted shapes, made from plastic or wood, from which children can create regular patterns or creative designs. As your kindergarten class learns about shapes, they can refer to the familiar geometrical shapes of their pattern blocks. When celebrating holidays, such as Halloween, you can incorporate educational play with pattern blocks into the holiday's themes and images.
  
  

Building Basics

• To introduce pattern block activities, first provide your students with a simple pattern block design. Place a large mixed pile of pattern blocks before the students and let them decide which pieces they must draw in order to reproduce the design. Make sure that you have enough pieces so that each child can make a copy of the same pattern. Once all the students have reproduced the pattern, have each student try to make a new pattern that is similar to a tall triangle or "witch's hat." Give the students five to ten minutes to create their patterns. Afterward, give each of the students a piece of paper and have them draw the basic design of their witch's hat, tracing each piece onto the page. Re-distribute the designs and let the students try to re-create their peer's pattern block designs.
  
  

Jack-o-Lantern

• The jack-o-lantern is an icon of Halloween that can be either spooky or cheerful, making it ideal for young children. Have your kindergarten class use pattern blocks to create their own jack-o-lanterns. Because you'll require a lot of orange blocks for this image, you might make your own pattern blocks out of construction paper. This way, the children can even keep the pattern blocks after the activity, gluing their completed designs to the paper in the style of a collage. Start the activity by drawing a large, simple jack-o-lantern on the board. Encourage the students to try to re-create the image with their pattern blocks. Mid-way through the activity, put up a jack-o-lantern image with the visible outlines of individual pattern blocks. Let the children use it as a model, as necessary.
  
  

Freestyle Pattern Blocks

• For an advanced kindergarten class, you can let the students design their own Halloween pictures using pattern blocks. Sometimes it's helpful to begin the activity with pictures, drawing them on large pieces of paper. Remind the students to draw large, simple lines and avoid fine details. You can encourage this style of drawing by giving out large enough sheets of paper and distributing large crayons. After drawing their pictures, the children can set pattern blocks over the images.