Patterns are Everywhere

by Early Math Counts

Patterns emerge everywhere in nature.   Leonardo of Pisa, also known as Fibonacci, discovered (or rediscovered depending on whose history you are studying) that there is a natural sequence that occurs in the organic world: we just have to look for it.  This sequence is made up of the series:

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21,36, 57, 90, etc.  Can you see the pattern?

The Fibonacci sequence is formulated by adding the first two numbers and then each subsequent number to the preceding number (0+1=1, 1+1=2, 2+1=3, and so on).

Take a look at these patterns from the natural world and you can see that they form the Fibonacci sequence.

12 Replies to “Patterns are Everywhere”

  1. I like what you are doing. I think there is a minor error here, where you accidentally wrote
    0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21,36, 57, 90, etc
    instead of
    1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89,…

    1. Good Catch- I posted this a very long time ago and never noticed that my addition didn\’t add up. Pretty sad for a blogger who only blogs about math. Thanks so much for letting me know.

  2. I had never heard of Leonardo of Pisa. Very interesting way to pattern, by adding the numbers. I found this very interesting.

  3. Can\’t believe how patterns are everywhere love teaching children pattern. Love just teaching simple math since i struggled with math when i was younger.

  4. It\’s amazing how children grasp this concept. They are so excited when they create their very own pattern. I find it interesting that teachers and parents don\’t always look at patterning as math skills; it has to be introduced to them that way. Thanks for sharing!

  5. I love the Fibonacci series and had never thought of sharing it with preschoolers, thanks for your suggestion!

  6. I know I am guilty of forgetting to look for the patters around. I think its so important to show them to kids and have them find them

  7. yes I know patterns are found in nature but never really looked at it like I should talk about it with my children so I guess i have some work to do on my own first so I can start talking and showing the children all of the worlds patterns.

    1. So much of what we do with babies has to do with their daily schedules. Think about getting dressed. It is a pattern to put on one sock, then one shoe, one sock and then one shoe. Try to find patterns in the day-to-day schedules of the infants and then repeat them over and over. Use language to describe what you are doing, or what they are doing and be sure to exaggerate the patterns. When singing with infants, find patterns in the songs as well. Hope these ideas help.

  8. Yes I love working with patterns I like to use things that are not related to see if they can pick up on the fact that it is color or objects that the pattern is created in

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