Dear Teacher,

This week during math class, we continued to follow the story of Layla as we learned more about patterns. In Story Two, the children met Layla's camel, Arad, and discovered that he makes many sounds that have patterns. For example, when he eats his mouth goes chop, chop, munch, munch; chop, chop, munch, munch; his tail goes flick, flick, flick, swoosh; flick, flick, flick, swoosh; and his bell goes jingle, jangle; jingle, jangle.

In this week's story, Layla and Arad became lost in the desert. After spying a tall tower in the distance, the two set off toward it, hoping it would provide a vantage point from which to look for the tents of Layla's family. When they stopped to rest, Layla made up physical movements to accompany Arad's sound patterns. Then the children played their own sound-movement game in class.

Please go on another pattern hunt with your children, but this time, instead of looking for patterns with your eyes, listen for sound patterns with your ears. Examples of sound patterns might be found in the noises of a dishwasher, windshield wipers, birds, telephone rings, car alarms, etc. Record the sound patterns in words, and help your child make up corresponding physical movements. They could also combine two sound patterns to make an interesting pattern (e.g. windshield wiper and directional signal could be thump, thump, click, click, click; thump, thump, click, click, click and the accompanying movements could be hop, hop, clap, clap, clap). Children will be invited to share their sound and movement patterns in class.

Sincerely,

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