AAB Pattern with Classroom Objects

In an AAB pattern, the first picture comes twice before the second — and that is the rule the child extends on this sheet of classroom objects. The pattern repeats in threes (picture-one, picture-one, picture-two), and the child completes the blank wagons by keeping the doubling going. Recognizing that the first element repeats before the second changes is patterning a level beyond AB, the kind of rule-finding Kindergarten readiness is built on.

AAB is the "lead-doubles" pattern: the opening picture twice, then a different one. Extending it means holding the position of the double in mind — it sits in the first slot — and applying that along the train. With classroom objects, the front-of-unit repeat stays clear, and a child practises tracking a longer beat than a simple back-and-forth.

Children who can hear the AAB beat — the lead picture twice, then one — get quicker at front-loaded patterns, and cracking the front-loaded rhythm feels good and earns a careful ear its reward. When this feels easy, try the pattern in aab pattern with clothes, or aab pattern with easter. You can also browse every pattern worksheet or the whole kindergarten collection — each sheet prints cleanly or plays online for free, and once the doubled-lead beat is easy, a child is ready for ABB, where it is the second picture that doubles instead — the mirror image of this one.