40+ Best Patterns Activities that Will Make You Wonder

Pattern Activities: 40+ D.I.Y. projects for your little ones

Recognizing patterns is a crucial step in developing maths skills. Children in preschool need to learn how to recognize, imitate, and make their own patterns.🙃

Young students can lay the groundwork for learning more complex mathematical ideas by developing their understanding of patterns as well as sequences, particularly in abstract ways. 

Best Patterns Activities for your little ones

The best real-world patterns activities for students have been compiled in this article.

Activities for math centers, manipulative activities, and creative activities are a few suggestions. 🤭

Make a Train

Ask children to create a chair train combining chairs in two separate colors for a life-size pattern exposure. Then they can pretend to take a journey while sitting on the train. Alternatively, have the youngsters build a train themselves.🍀

Block patterns

With a collection of blocks, you can perform the easiest patterning activity. 🙁

Build the start of the structure and instruct kids to carry it on. 

A/A/B, A/B/C, A/B/B, etc., are some variations you can try after starting with a basic A/B pattern. Alter the attributes as well. Create a color-blocked design, then add various shapes.

Paper plate patterns

Get kids to arrange the pegs around a plain paper plate in a certain manner using pegs of various colors.🥳

Key facts

To persuade the youngsters to match the holes while adhering to the design around the plate, you may also paint the design onto the plate in strokes around the corners.

Cereal Bracelet

Employ cereal loops (or another amusing and edible object) to create a pattern sequence on a string; for young children, start using just two colors.🤡

Once they’ve finished them and fastened them to their wrists, kids can munch on them throughout the day.

Beads

There are numerous ways to create patterns using beads.

Ways to make patterns

• Attach beads onto string, shoelaces, or pipe cleaners using a straightforward pattern.
• Make a necklace using a pattern.
• Create a pattern by putting beads in an arc on paper or a poster board using liquid glue🌴

Buttons

Additionally adaptable and useful in a variety of instructional contexts are buttons.

Create basic patterns like:

• Repeat with the red and yellow buttons.
• Repeat with the big and tiny buttons.
• Repeat with the square and round buttons.🔮

Macaroni Necklace 

Make a necklace out of dry macaroni as an alternative to constructing one out of beads or buttons.

You can either thread the macaroni in a pattern according to their shape, size, or length, or you can paint them a variety of colors first.🐾

Clapping patterns

Enjoy a game of pattern recognition. Get children to imitate you by clapping a short sequence back to you.🎭

Here are some examples:

• clap – – clap – – clap
• clap – – clap-clap-clap
• clap-clap – – clap

Paper tearing 

When you first present the idea, create short and simple patterns by handing children pieces of paper in two different colors and asking them to tear pieces and arrange them to create a pattern.🎐

Key fact

Through this project, they will practice their fine motor skills in addition to learning the topic.

Plastic cups

Give out colored plastic cups so that people may create patterns with them.

Alternatively, design a pattern using various cup materials: plastic cups, paper cups, etc.🎲

Nature patterns

Get outside and gather natural resources like twigs, fallen flowers, leaves, etc.

Get children to recognize and follow a basic pattern, such as leaves, flower, leaf, flower.

Glue the materials onto paper to create a patterned collage as the next step.🐾

Baking patterns

Introduce patterns to your baking the next time you make it. Baking is a great teaching activity.

Make patterns using the decorations or ice the cupcakes in stripes of various colors.🎰

Movement patterns 

Play an activity where the children must imitate your specific movement pattern. The pattern can then be continued, and they can try to imagine some movement patterns.

Here are two illustrations:

• Clap, click, turn, and repeat once more
• Jump, nod, and raise your arms💡

Key fact

Children will learn to sense the pattern while experiencing it at the level of their entire body by practicing this, which requires a lot of concentration and focus.

Spot Patterns in the Environment 

There are patterns all around you, so be sure to look for them and call them out.😘

You can find them on your cat, your clothes, the patio outside, and striped leaves.

You may also take them on a walk while looking for patterns to see if they can locate any.

Songs and Rhymes 

Even though it would seem like a strange option in a patterning activity, a youngster can learn about sound patterns by singing songs and reading poems and rhymes.🎶

Sorting Socks

Although it may seem extremely simple, ask your toddlers to sort their clothes into piles or discover the correlation between pairs of socks when they are little.🔥

Key fact

These will help your toddler learn to recognize patterns and recognize the many characteristics of objects.

• They are little, and these socks are huge.
• This sock doesn’t go with the one which has blue spots because it has red spots.
• The stripes on this top are pink and white.📌

Pattern Hat activity

Preschoolers will use a pattern core to make a pattern of shapes for this exercise. Students can add patterns of their choice to the decorations on their hats. 

Students can then assemble their hats and impress their friends with their patterning abilities! This game is easy to play and enjoyable!📍

Pattern read aloud

Preschoolers benefit greatly from read-aloud, which helps them visualize and comprehend both patterns and sequences. 

Things to remember 

Through read-aloud with a pattern theme, kids can hone their pattern-making skills and gain knowledge about complicated patterns while also developing their vocabulary and arithmetic literacy.🤠

Splat

Kids will use their hands to shape play dough into balls to make a pattern for this practical exercise. They will then “splat” the play dough to create a design.🌀

A young child might, for instance, splat each other play dough ball or every other pair of balls. Children internalize how to create patterns thanks to the tactile experience.

Pattern Hunt

Preschoolers will search their home or classroom for patterns as part of this exercise. Students may identify simple patterns on the wallpaper, plates, clothing, etc., with the aid of their parents or teachers. 

The patterns will then be described by children, who can even draw them out and duplicate them.

Pattern Sticks

Preschoolers can practice matching patterns with this enjoyable tactile play. Kids will connect various colored clothes clips to a popsicle pole that has a pattern painted onto it in order to duplicate the pattern. This is a fantastic math center exercise.🤠

Draw Your Patterns 

By utilizing manipulatives to create patterns, this exercise helps kids learn. The resulting pattern is then drawn by the kids. Kids’ motor skills and spatial awareness are both enhanced by this practice.

Ice cube tray patterns 

This is a fantastic activity to teach young children basic patterns. Kids will design patterns in a container of ice using buttons of various colors. 🥳

Children in preschool will practice creating color patterns to develop their sequencing abilities.

Repeating pictures 

Children can use this enjoyable exercise to learn about patterns utilizing shapes. Children will utilize cutouts of various shapes to make patterns, such as ladybirds with spots and without spots.💥

Teachers might also have students repeat a pattern using the graphics on the playing surface or pattern cards.

Complete the pattern 

Preschoolers can follow the instructions on these worksheets to complete the pattern. Students will work on drawing shapes and repeating and identifying patterns. 

In the preschool classroom, these worksheets allow pupils to practice their fundamental math abilities. 🧮 

Bead snakes 

Preschoolers can enjoy completing this enjoyable patterning project under adult supervision. Children will use a variety of colored beads to create snakes 🐍. 

Their snake should move in a particular way. You may make the snakes out of yarn as well as a pipe cleaner.

Lego patterns 

When educating preschoolers about patterns, instructors and parents can use Lego as an excellent teaching tool. 

Children may create their own designs in either shape or color, or adults can make a pattern for them to copy. Another excellent math center exercise is this one.💯

Counting Bears

On Amazon, you may buy inexpensive manipulatives like counting bears. Students can construct their own developmental patterns or use the bears to match bear colors to the appropriate bear colors in a pattern. 💫

Graphic patterns

This one-of-a-kind pattern activity aids young children in understanding abstract patterns. 

Students recognize items that belong to particular categories, such as “land” or “sky,” and then they detect patterns within those items, such as vehicles or jets. ✊️

Candy cane Patterns 

This winter or Christmas Time activity is ideal. On poster paper, parents or educators will draw candy canes.♥️

Then, young children will use sticker dots or bingo dot markers to make amusing candy cane designs.

Movement patterns

In this tactile patterning exercise, instructors or parents can make use of movement cards or prompts.

Students can develop their own pattern of motion for other students to emulate, or teachers can construct one for them to copy.🌿

Art and Stamp

Preschoolers may practice making patterns with the help of this entertaining and imaginative painting project. Students can either copy patterns or make their own patterns.😉

To replicate the sequences, students must be able to spot color and shape patterns. 

Magnalite Pattern puzzles

Parents can use a piece of paper to draw a design using magnates for this activity and then place the paper on a cookie sheet. 

The pattern can then be created by having kids fit the magnetic shape to the correct shape. Children will enjoy looking for missing pattern pieces. 😉

Pattern Zebra 

Kids will use a blank zebra template and colored paper strips to make a pattern for this activity. Children can glue strips onto the zebra in a pattern by alternating the colors, which will help them develop their fine motor skills. 🌿

Unifix Cubes

Children can manipulate unfix cubes to see mathematical statements visually. Unfix cubes are used by preschoolers to create the patterns shown on a pattern sheet. Children must comprehend how to reproduce the pattern using various colors. 🌼🍀

Domino Line up

Children learn to recognize numerical patterns through this number-counting practice. Kids are also encouraged to begin learning basic addition through this practice. 

Children arrange dominoes in a line according to the column’s number. Kids will learn how to create numbers in a variety of methods.🐾🎰

Geometric shapes

Children in preschool create geometric shapes out of popsicle sticks. They will discover how smaller shape patterns result in larger shapes. 🌀

Children can explore and create their own geometric shapes, or educators, parents, or both, can supply patterns for them to copy. This exercise is easy, enjoyable, and reasonably priced.

Pattern Making Observing

Children will create designs of their own as well as take note of patterns in nature for this project. Children discover patterns in pine cones, leaves, and tree rings 💍. 

They next explain the pattern, defend the pattern, and make an effort to replicate the pattern.🪆

Triangle Patterns 

You may construct a variety of closed designs with equal-length sides with popsicle sticks. Triangles were where we started.

Key knowledge:

• Different lengths of sides can be used to create triangles.
• Equilateral triangles are those with three equal-length sides.🎐

Stickers and patterns

Stickers make quick and simple manipulatives for a variety of tasks, including patterns! 

Give them some sticker sheets and ask them to create as simple or complex a pattern as they can as you teach them about patterns.

Paper chains

Colored paper chain links offer an opportunity to practice patterning in addition to being used to adorn Christmas trees.

Strips of colored construction paper, tape, and glue are all you need to make paper link chains.🥅

One of the easiest and least expensive patterning activities is making paper chains.

Popsicle Stick Creation

The innovation of colored craft sticks is amazing. Contact paper can be cut into strips, and popsicle sticks can be arranged on top in a variety of designs.

Fruit loop bracelets 

Pattern practice, wearable art, and crispy cereal are all included in this exercise.

Why not adore it?

Fruit Loops can be strung on pipe cleaners to make bracelets with patterns.🪡

Lego Patterns 

There is a reason why Lego blocks are a timeless toy. They have many instructional uses, of which patterning is only one.🎲

Build towers out of Legos in vibrant patterns.

A full cityscape might be made up of patterned buildings!

Penguin Patterns File folder games

Preschoolers may practice identifying the following shape in the pattern by using penguins in an array of forms in this file box pattern exercise. A very adorable pattern-making project for file folders that your kids or pupils will like.🤭

Robot pattern Cards

Does your young child adore robots? In that case, they might be interested in learning about patterns and shapes after participating in this robot pattern activity.

In addition to the shape that should follow another in the pattern, you might ask them to describe the names, colors, and shapes they notice.🎶

Gold cracker Patterns

For young children in particular, eating some of your jobs at the end of a lesson makes learning more enjoyable. These 20 patterns for goldfish crackers will keep your child busy learning about patterns while also satisfying their need for a snack. 🐾💫

Key fact

With the help of this trend activity for preschoolers, your toddler will not only learn about patterns but will also develop pattern recognition skills.🎭🍁

Egg Carton patterns

Egg cartons make excellent storage containers for the materials your kids use to create their patterns. Here are some patterns you can create using Legos and beads, as well as some more difficult patterns for older kids.

Pirate patterns

Does your child enjoy pirates? If so, they ought to find this cut-and-paste pirate design to be a fun and instructive pattern activity. These exercises can also be laminated and used in a center or busy bag.💥

Truck pattern card

For young learners just beginning to learn about patterns, up to kindergarteners who might have heard a little bit about patterns, the downloadable truck pattern card exercise is ideal.🍁❤️

Cut and paste patterns 

There is nothing more beneficial than a task that addresses several concepts and abilities at once. Cut-and-paste exercises are a simple approach to practicing fine-motor abilities, but they are also great for practicing patterns.

Apple patterns with pom pom

This game is a great addition to your maths center if you’re teaching your kids the first letter from the alphabet at the moment or if you’re going through a unit with an apple theme.😎

A.B. kite pattern

This kite pattern project fits into so many various theme units and is ideal for springtime! 🤡

With this particular project, your kids will have both workbooks and tactile learning alternatives to learn about the Spring period, the weather, and perhaps the wind specifically. Kites make the ideal manipulative.

Flower Patterning 

Additionally, this pattern activity is a wonderful sensory adventure! Both artificial plants and handmade playdough are required. 🔥

Your kids will practice patterns with these two materials as well as try their hand at gardening as they ‘plant’ their flowers in different arrangements.

Patterned caterpillar craft

An art lesson and pattern instruction are combined in this charming pattern design! Allow your kids to make their very own patterned caterpillar crafts, which they can then use to decorate the classroom walls.🌿

A.B.C. pattern combined with AAABBB pattern

My son had to recognize the A.B.C. pattern (growing pattern of medium-sized, medium-sized, and large-sized circles) and the AAABBB pattern (increasing pattern of red and blue circles every three circles) with this pattern.🪡📍

Conclusion 

In a nutshell 🚼 do examine patterns in their daily environments and acquire informal information about them—more informal understanding than adults realize or anticipate. However, they still have a lot to learn.

They will eventually acquire to see that the exterior of the structure consists of six alike bird-like figures, each asymmetrical, with two white “wings” placed on each side.

This is one example of how they can learn to analyze the relationships among the various pieces used in the stunning construction demonstrated at the very start of this handout.🎭❤️