AB Pattern with Everyday Objects

This sheet teaches the AB pattern — the first repeating pattern young children learn. Two everyday objects pictures take turns along a train, and the child completes the empty wagons by continuing the alternating rule. Noticing that the sequence goes first-second-first-second and predicting what follows is foundational patterning, a Kindergarten readiness skill built on looking and reasoning, not counting.

The skill an AB pattern builds is prediction from a rule — the child sees the start of the sequence and works out what must come next. For Kindergarten that is core readiness thinking, and a clean two-picture alternation of everyday objects rehearses it without numbers, keeping the focus on the repeating rhythm.

Children who get the hang of the AB back-and-forth start predicting the next picture at a glance, and finishing a clean alternating train feels satisfying, a small and clear early win. When this feels easy, try the pattern in ab pattern with musical instruments, or ab pattern with post office. You can also browse every pattern worksheet or the whole kindergarten collection — each sheet prints cleanly or plays online for free, and the more two-part patterns a child completes, the readier they are for patterns where a picture starts to double — the natural next step up the ladder.