Young children grow in an environment that is patterned in many different ways. These early experiences of pattern can be the basis for later understanding of the complex structures of mathematics. Teachers can structure experiences to encourage children to examine and analyze patterns, to discover symmetrical properties, to compare shapes and sizes in ordered sequences, to create patterns, to represent sequences visually and verbally, and finally to use numbers or letters to symbolize patterned series. Patterning is based on classification and seriation, processes which involve seeing both likeness and difference and which rule governed sequences with a starting point and a direction. Varied learning activities with patterns can be provided by teachers who consider visual, auditory, and motor learning modalities in conjunction with a cognitive hierarchy of learning tasks that progress from reproduction through identification, extension, creation, and translation. This schema, however, does not assist teachers in selecting activities which lead to basic mathematical understandings. The table included at the end of the paper lists activities, learning modalities, and cognitive task hierarchies for specific learning experiences connected to specific mathematics concepts. Activities are appropriate for 4-, 5-, and 6-year-old children. (RH)