Pattern Worksheets for Kids: Complete the Pattern

📄 Printable WorksheetsAge 4-5EasyPatterns 🇺🇸 Preschool 🇬🇧 Reception 🇮🇳 LKG

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Patterns are one of the first big maths ideas young children meet. When a child notices that red, blue, red, blue keeps repeating, they are learning to look for order, predict what comes next and think like a problem solver.

This set of free printable pattern worksheets gives children gentle practice with colour patterns, shape patterns and size patterns. Pages move from simple AB patterns to ABB and AAB patterns, and finish with a page where children create a repeating pattern of their own. Just print, hand over some crayons and let the colouring and thinking begin.

How to play

Download the worksheet pages and print them on A4 paper. One set per child works best, so everyone can colour their own.
Start with page 1. Ask your child to say the pattern out loud, for example "circle, square, circle, square", before they draw or colour.
Let them complete the missing parts and tick or circle the correct answer where asked.
Finish with the last page, where your child invents a repeating pattern and reads it back to you.

Working with patterns builds early algebraic thinking. Your child learns to sort by colour, shape and size, to spot a repeating unit, and to predict what comes next. Saying the pattern aloud also strengthens listening, sequencing and vocabulary such as before, after, next, big and small. Colouring and drawing the answers gives extra pencil control practice, which supports neat writing later. If a page feels hard, model one example together and let your child finish the rest. Short, happy sessions of ten minutes work far better than long ones, and plenty of praise keeps children keen to try the next page.

Frequently asked questions

What age are these pattern worksheets suitable for?

They suit children aged about four to six, including senior kindergarten and Class 1. Younger children can do the colour patterns on page 1 with help, while older children enjoy the ABB and AAB patterns and the create-your-own page.

Are the worksheets really free to print?

Yes. All pages are free to download and print as many times as you like for home or classroom use. Print on plain A4 paper in black and white, since children add the colour themselves with crayons or pencils.

What is an AB pattern and an ABB pattern?

An AB pattern repeats two items in turn, such as star, moon, star, moon. An ABB pattern repeats one item then two of another, such as red, blue, blue, red, blue, blue. Naming the pattern aloud helps children hear the repeat.

How can I extend this activity away from the worksheet?

Make patterns with everyday things: spoons and forks, buttons, pulses, leaves or claps and stomps. Ask your child to copy your pattern, then continue it, then build one for you to solve. This makes the idea concrete and fun.