Giant Pattern Blocks for Toddlers

I love everything about pattern blocks…the brilliant colors, the designs a child can make, the endless opportunities for play and learning. The one thing I don’t like about pattern blocks, however, is how small they are. I rarely get them out because one will inevitably end up on the floor (and even more inevitably into Little Sister’s mouth).

With this in mind, I decided to set out to create a set of pattern blocks that even Little Sister could play with…and thus the Giant Pattern Blocks for Toddlers was born.

Safety Note: Even though this activity states it is for toddlers, make sure you are watching your child at all times while he/she plays with these pattern blocks. Pieces of foam could get chewed off and become a choking hazard.

You can download the template for the giant pattern blocks before getting started.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Free Printable Giant Pattern Blocks Template
Peel & Stick Foam Sheets
Xacto Knife and Cutting Mat (or you can use scissors)

First of all, you’ll want to print out the template. I increased the thickness of our pattern blocks by stacking the foam sheets together (which is where the peel-and-stick kind come in handy). I made ours 3-foam sheets thick, but two would be just fine.

Once you have the thickness figured out, go ahead and place your template on top of the foam and cut out using the Xacto knife. You could also trace the shape onto the back of the foam and cut it out with scissors. I did it both ways…switching it up so my hands wouldn’t get tired. :)

Continue cutting out the shapes until you have all you want (or you run out of craft foam).

In all honesty, Little Sister played with them for a few minutes and then was done with them. I hope she will grow into them (probably when she is finally old enough for the regular pattern blocks- ha!). On the bright side, her brothers think they are pretty neat and spent quite a while making various shapes and patterns.

She did enjoy walking on them. I think she liked the texture of the foam under her feet. :)

Little Brother made a person (the hexagon is the head).

A rocket ship…with a galaxy to the right. :)

Overall, this was a fun project albeit a bit time consuming. I hope this is one of those activities they come back to time and again for short stints of fun.