Have you ever wondered how to teach patterns to your preschooler? Playing for Hours provides step-by-step instructions from the initial introduction to recognizing them, and completing a pattern. These are hands-on, play based learning methods that will challenge your child and engage your child’s interest. 

If you enjoy this “how to” and the free printable available at the bottom of the page you will love the rest of what Playing for Hours has to offer.

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Why should you practice patterns with your preschooler?

Patterns are all around us, all you have to do is look and listen. We find them in a drum beat, in a rainbow, and leaves growing on a stem. By introducing patterns early our 3-4 year old creates logical connections in their environment and learns math concepts in a natural way.

The stages

Every child will progress through each stage at different rates. As the parent you’ll be able to determine if your child is ready to move to the next stage by the accuracy of your child’s answers and their speed to respond.

Establishing the idea with an Abacus

The abacus is an easy way to set the stage for our young mathematician. The objects, beads, move in two directions. Rows are stacked on top of each other and these sets are distinct from each other. I love the durability of this abacus, it has withstood a lot in our house.

The idea is to create a set at the top and your child is to repeat that set on each rung, all the way to the bottom. This encourages them to start correlating patterns as repeating sets. They think, “I’ll make what Momma made,” creating a matching set on each rung until the pattern is complete.

Here is an example of a set on an Abacus. Starting with all beads slid to the left, only move beads on the top rung. Slide two beads all the way to the right and leave the rest far left. After your child has completed all sets through the bottom rung that look identical try a more difficult pattern. For example, slide three beads far right, one bead center and leave the rest where they are. Increasing in difficulty can span over a few days or weeks. 

Your child may also like to “challenge” you. They make the set at the top and you repeat it to the bottom. How you can challenge them in this is to make a “mistake.” See if they catch an obvious and subtle blunder and correct you. This is a good way to know that they’re ready to move on.

Physical practice with counting bears

Now we can take the previous concept and apply it to the next stage. Instead of the location of a bead on a rung, we will be using objects that are free and basing our pattern on something more nuanced like colors. We are also going to take each set and line them up in a long row to form the typical way to display a math pattern.

In this stage we’re still working with physical objects, but now we’re using counting bears. I prefer these counting bears because they also include different sizes which allows for more options as your child advances in patterns and other math related concepts.

Begin by placing your first set in a row on the table (left to right). Choose an easy set such as blue, green, green. And repeat the pattern ending with blue, green. Now you can ask your child what color comes next. Whether they respond correctly or not, you will place the correct color, green, next. Then separate the sets into rows, one on top of the other. Like with an Abacus. 

Many three year old’s do not struggle completing a pattern of the sets when separated. When the sets are all combined in a row is when they have difficulty. This stage usually takes longer to move out of.

When your child answers incorrectly, continue separating the pattern and stacking. Do not advance the difficulty of the pattern. When I see him becoming frustrated I reverse this process. I place a few sets on top of each other and then the first colors of the next set and ask him, “what color comes next?” He almost always completes the pattern correctly. I then take each row and join it into one long row making the pattern complete. Reversing the process provides encouragement because you can praise them for a correct answer. If they’re still not answering correctly, then you need to return to the abacus stage. 

Visual practice with the drum patterns printable

The free printable takes the concept of the bears and turns this into a visual pattern practice.

We’re taking away the option to physically separate our pattern into sets. Our child has to do it in their heads, which should be encouraged. If your child is struggling with this you can use counting bears to create the pattern off the pattern strip (be sure to choose a strip with the same colors as your bears). Allow your child to physically separate the sets into rows.

A note on the printable. You can keep it easy and simply print it out and cut it. Or I enjoy laminating, then cutting it out, and attaching Velcro stickers to the answers and blank space.

When giving this to your child for the first time begin with only three pattern strips and answers. Then build on the number supplied as they practice.

There is no rush. 

At this age math and patterns can be difficult. It’s best to introduce these concepts and see how your child is doing. If they’re enjoying the lesson and progressing, then encourage them with more practice and challenges. If your child is struggling then set it aside and come back another week to try again. 

My eldest struggled with the abacus. But after revisiting it occasionally I noticed a change. It had finally clicked for him and we quickly moved from abacus to counting bears, to visual practice. My current three year old picks math concepts up quickly. But he did need extra time on the counting bears stage more so than the other stages.

Remember not all children progress at the same rate. A brain must mature to a point before it can understand something new, especially with math concepts. 

The drum printable is a part of an entire week’s worth of lessons, Dd is for Drum. Additionally, Dd is for Drum is one letter of an entirely free preschool curriculum. Be sure to check the various letters’ themes here at Letter of the Week. Download for free by signing up for the newsletter below.