Patterns are everywhere: stripes, beads, songs and the days of the week. Spotting what repeats and predicting what comes next is early maths — and early coding — thinking.
What your child will learn
- Spot a repeating pattern of colours or pictures
- Say what comes next in a pattern
- Find the missing part of a pattern
Say it out loud
Saying a pattern aloud — “red, blue, red, blue…” — helps children hear the repeat. Patterns start with two things taking turns and grow to three-part patterns.
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. What comes next in the pattern?
- ?
- 🌙
- ⭐
- ❤️
Show answer
Answer: ⭐. The pattern repeats ⭐ ❤️. After ❤️ comes ⭐.
2. What comes next in the pattern?
- ?
- ⭐
- 🌙
- ☀️
Show answer
Answer: 🌙. The pattern repeats ☀️ 🌙. After ☀️ comes 🌙.
3. What comes next in the pattern?
- ?
- 🔴
- 🟣
- 🔵
Show answer
Answer: 🔴. The pattern repeats 🟣 🔴. After 🟣 comes 🔴.
Tips for grown-ups
- Thread beads or pasta in a pattern together.
- Clap and stamp a pattern: clap, stamp, clap, stamp…
- Look for patterns on clothes, tiles and fences.