Patterns are all around us—in the natural world, from the leaves on trees to waves in the ocean, and in man-made structures like skyscrapers and houses. Musicians, painters and printmakers all use patterns to craft their works of art too!
Exploring patterns in a variety of forms is a fantastic way to help early learners build basic math skills and can help them comprehend more complex algebraic and scientific topics later on. For young children, this can start with looking for patterns in colors, shapes, sounds, or school or home routines. With older children, use patterns to identify scientific phenomena like how weather can be predicted over time. Or explore tessellations, geometric forms that combine math and art in exciting ways!
Learn all about patterns in everyday life and big scientific concepts with the videos, games, and crafts below. Then, keep the fun going with Learn Along Bingo sheets full of printable activities and everyday learning ideas for children grades Pre-K to 2!
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Explore Patterns
Zadie’s Shell Shuffle | Work It Out Wombats!™
Grades PreK-K
Zadie loses her hide-and-seek winning streak and blames it on JunJun’s singing in this animated story from Work It Out Wombats!™ But when she messes up Mr. E’s shell garden, Zadie realizes JunJun’s song is the key to fixing the pattern of colorful shells. She relies on his song to recall and recreate the pattern of repeating colors. Now that the shell garden is fixed, can Zadie and JunJun patch things up?
Using Patterns to Boost Your Child’s Math Skills
Grades PreK-3
Learn how patterns can help your preschool or early elementary school student build serious math skills!
Dance Like Nobody’s Watching | The Odd Squad
Grades K-2
Learn about identifying patterns with the Odd Squad. When Otto identifies a pattern in one of Oscar’s traps, he busts a move to get past it.
Clouds in Weather Patterns
Grades 3-5
Learn about factors, such as wind, moisture, temperature, and air pressure, at a regional level that help produce the weather that people experience locally. This video helps students learn about weather patterns over time and space, which can be used to predict upcoming weather.
Fibonacci Sequence
Grades 6-12
Each number in the Fibonacci sequence is the sum of the two numbers before it. Tavia Cathcart Brown shows us how to find those numbers in nature, and what they mean. Scientists and mathematicians are still exploring both the natural occurrence and the applications of this number pattern today!
Games, Crafts & Activities
12 Books to Excite Your Child’s Mathematical Imagination
Grades PreK-4
Here are a few picture books that skillfully weave in mathematical concepts, offering a simple way to excite children’s imagination while increasing their comfort level with math.
Roll & Bead: Make Jewelry With Math
Grades K-3
This multiplayer game is super simple and develops counting, subitizing (recognizing amounts without counting), as well as fine motor and hand-eye coordination skills. Children will get to make a cool bracelet too!
Craft a Secret Message Card
Grades K-3
Secret messages and codes have been used throughout history — and by the Odd Squad — to keep messages private. They’re even used to figure out each agent’s special badge number. In this activity, your spy kids can practice math, spelling and writing skills while creating a secret message for a loved one!
Super Stairs: Patterns of Ordered Pairs
Grades 3-5
Try to find the numerical pattern to describe what happens when Dan runs stairs. This interactive lesson focuses on using what you know about pattern recognition and using data to write expressions in order for you to figure out the equation to model the situation given.
Observations of Climate Change
Grades 6-12
This interactive lesson introduces students to the various ways that people work to understand climate change, particularly in the Arctic. Scientists look for patterns within data sets to help them formulate research questions and then develop predictions that they can test. Students will think about climate change in their own community, collecting and summarizing their own data to form a testable prediction about climate change.
Learn Along Bingo
With Learn Along Bingo, children can view, explore, and play as they learn alongside their PBS KIDS friends on the PBS KIDS 24/7 channel. We hope your family will use it to inspire learning each and every day.
This time, we’re learning how to recognize patterns and build basic math skills. Recognizing patterns is important because it helps us to develop investigation and prediction skills. Eventually, we learn how to solve even more challenging problems!
Grades PreK-K
Play & Learn: In this packet, there are printable activities and everyday learning ideas for you and your child to choose from. As you complete each square, mark it off to celebrate the learning!
Grades 1-2
Play & Learn: In this packet, there are printable activities and everyday learning ideas for you and your child to choose from. As you complete each square, mark it off to celebrate the learning!
For even more games and educational resources for young learners, go to the Playing With Patterns collection on PBS KIDS for Parents.