Visual Planning

Pattern Maze: PicturesLevel 1 · Easy

4 × 5 squares, a pattern of 2 pictures. One dead-end branch.

Level 14 × 5 squares, a pattern of 2 pictures. One dead-end branch.

Keeping track?

Aims of this activity

Finding the next picture among the nearby squares (visual search)
Telling similar pictures apart (visual discrimination)
Keeping the pattern in mind while moving (working memory)
Looking ahead at a branch to choose the way (planning)

Your child follows the pictures in the order shown at the top of the page (after the last picture, the pattern starts again from the first), moving from the start to the finish.Moves go only up, down, left, or right to the next square, and there is always exactly one correct route.The activity aims to build the ability to keep the pattern in mind, find and tell apart the next picture among the nearby squares, and look ahead at branches.All the pictures on one page belong to the same group (fruit, vehicles, and so on), so your child can also say the names out loud while working.When your child is ready, "Pattern Maze: Shapes" is the next step up, using symbols instead of pictures.

Tips

Check the order of the pictures at the top. After the picture on the right, go back to the picture on the left.
From the square at the red arrow (start), draw a line with a pencil to the next square up, down, left, or right, following the pattern. No diagonal moves.
The maze is done when the line reaches the blue arrow (finish).

A filled-in example of Pattern Maze Level 1. A line goes from the start following chick, frog, chick, frog. — Example (Level 1). The blue line is the child's line. The dotted line is a dead end the child tried and came back from.

For what to say, choosing a level and what to do if it is too hard, see Pattern Maze: Pictures: a guide for grown-ups.

Choosing a level

Start with a level that seems a little easy. At Level 1, check that your child understands the pattern at the top (after the last picture, go back to the first).

↓

Reached the finish following the pattern, without getting lost

Go up one level.
After Level 5, try "Pattern Maze: Shapes," which uses symbols.
Before drawing, try following the route to the finish with the eyes only.

Loses track of the pattern or cannot find the way back from a dead end

Go down one level (a shorter pattern and fewer squares).
Point to the pictures at the top and say the pattern out loud while moving ("chick, frog, chick...").

Pattern Maze: Pictures free printable worksheet, Level 3 (Medium) — From Level 4 the pattern has 4 pictures, so there is more to keep in mind.

Pattern Maze: Pictures free printable worksheet, Level 4 (Medium-Hard) — From Level 4 the pattern has 4 pictures, so there is more to keep in mind.

Things you can say

Before startingLet's say the pattern together.Point to the pictures at the top and say them out loud, including going back from the last picture to the first.
When stuckWhat is this picture? What comes next?Once your child can name the next picture, let them look for it in the nearby squares.
At a branchWhich way gets to the finish?Do not give the answer right away. Let your child look ahead and choose.
At a dead endLet's go back and try another way.Going into a dead end is not a failure. Going back and trying again is fine.
When finishedYou followed the pattern all the way!Notice that your child kept to the pattern, not just how fast they were.