AAB Pattern with Spring

In an AAB pattern, the first picture comes twice before the second — and that is the rule the child extends on this sheet of spring things. 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.

What makes AAB its own pattern is the front-loaded repeat: the first picture comes as a pair, the second as a single. A child works out the beat and fills the gaps. Practising the doubled-opening rhythm with spring things sharpens a young learner's ear for where a repeat sits inside a unit — at the very start, in this case.

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 summer, or aab pattern with toys. 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.