Mixed Patterns Tracing: Waves, Stars and Circles — Medium, Full Tracing, 5 Rows, Ages 5–6

Waves, stars and circles repeat in turn across five medium rows, fully dashed for 5–6 year olds, so row 4 is a second go at row 1 and row 5 a second go at row 2.

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1 A4 page · for home and classroom use

All printables: Tracing lines

Mixed patterns

How to use this worksheet

Rows 1 and 4, waves: start on the dot in the middle of the band and go up first, keeping one smooth line.
Rows 2 and 5, stars: start at the top point and follow the outline round to the right without cutting across the middle.
Row 3, circles: start at the dot on the left side, go down and round counterclockwise and close each circle where it began.

What this worksheet teaches

The three patterns cover three basic ways a pencil moves: a flowing curve that keeps going (waves), a closed round shape (circles) and straight lines with sharp turns (stars). Full tracing takes away the question of where to go, so a 5–6 year old can concentrate on a steady speed and on staying on the dashes. Counterclockwise circles match the way letters such as a, c, d, g and o are formed.

Play idea

Spot the better row: when the sheet is done, your child compares row 1 with row 4 and row 2 with row 5 and puts a tick next to the one that stayed closer to the dashes. Talk about what helped the second time.

Questions and answers

Questions from parents

Why do waves and stars appear twice but circles only once?

The sheet uses three patterns in turn across five rows, so the first two come back in rows 4 and 5.

Which way should the circles go?

Counterclockwise: from the dot on the left, down first, then round. It is the direction used for letters such as a, d and o.

My child lifts the pencil in the middle of the waves. Is that a problem?

Try to keep each wave row as one line; if the pencil lifts, restart exactly where the line stopped.