Camera Spy: Find the Patterns Worksheet for Preschoolers
This pattern-recognition worksheet has children ages 3-5 study a set pattern shown at the top of the page and then locate that same repeating sequence within smaller boxes below, training visual comparison and pattern-matching across separate parts of a page. Unlike simply continuing a pattern, this format asks children to recognize an identical pattern elsewhere, a subtly different and useful skill for later tasks like matching sets or comparing groups. Repeating this scan-and-match process across several boxes builds sustained visual attention.
Curriculum
How to use this worksheet
Look at the pattern shown at the top of the page together and describe it out loud, noting the order of shapes or colors. Have your child examine each smaller box below and decide whether it shows the exact same pattern. When they find a match, have them circle that box. Continue through all the boxes, reviewing together why the circled ones matched and the others didn't.
Materials needed
- Pencil
- Crayons
Extension activities
- •Create your own patterns using different shapes or colors for someone else to match.
- •Go on a pattern hunt around the house or classroom, looking for repeating designs.
- •Play a memory-style game matching pattern cards that repeat the same sequence.
- •Build the top pattern using blocks, then try to recreate it from memory.
- •Sort a mixed set of pattern cards into 'matches the target pattern' and 'doesn't match' piles.
Tips for parents and teachers
Encourage your child to describe the patterns they find, asking questions like 'what comes next?' to reinforce the underlying rule rather than just visual guessing. If a near-match trips your child up, point to each element side by side and compare one at a time rather than looking at the whole box together. Celebrate correct matches enthusiastically, since spotting an identical pattern among similar-looking distractors takes real focus at this age.
Written by
Hemsweta Jain · Teacher Cheena
MBA and Early Childhood Educator, teaching since 2014 · Founder of RaisoActive, Mumbai
Every RaisoActive worksheet is designed and checked by the founder before publishing.
Published · Last reviewed
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