Meet J. Patrick Lewis, the author of more than 80 books of poetry for children, on every topic under the sun — from celebrations of Civil Rights heroes (and she-roes) to riddle-filled math puzzlers to poems about amazing animals and iconic buildings from around the world. For decades, Lewis has been sharing his delight for poetry with school kids — and hoping to inspire new lovers of language. He served as our third Children’s Poet Laureate from 2011 to 2013.
Children begin using their senses to recognize patterns and categorize things at a young age — skills that play an important role in early learning. This tip sheet provides some simple activities, as well as recommended books, that parents can use to help their kids build pattern recognition and categorization skills in science and math.