Looking for a fun and engaging way to help young learners explore shapes, patterns, and spatial skills? These free printable Safari Animal pattern block mats are perfect for hands-on learning in your preschool or kindergarten classroom! Whether you’re working on shape recognition, fine motor skills, or early math concepts, these mats provide an interactive way for children to build and create with pattern blocks.
My students were really interested in the pattern blocks this week. While they were making different animals and designs, I started making some things myself and tracing them out on paper, and I came up with a lion and a giraffe. Since we have been reading a lot of books about safari animals this month, the kids couldn’t wait to get their hands on these.
The mats are great for visual discrimination because they have to match up the shapes. Don’t forget to also encourage children to create their own designs with pattern blocks because they are great for creativity and critical thinking. To encourage the children and show them that the designs they make are valuable, too, I often photograph their pattern block designs. The photo can be saved in their portfolio or emailed home or added to a pattern block book.
Just click the images below to print the pattern block mats. Find more on the Pattern Block Mats page!
This set includes mats with these animals in both color and black & white:
- lion
- giraffe
- elephant
- lemur
- cheetah
- peacock
- tiger
- hyena
- ostrich
- monkey
- crocodile
- snake
IMPORTANT!
These mats are my own work: I came up with all of the designs and created them myself. Please respect my Terms of Use (you cannot put these on another website, in a book, or make derivative works).
Download the Safari Animal Pattern Block Mats
Click the buttons below to download and print the pattern block mats.
Downlaod: Safari Pattern Blocks
Find more Wild Animal Activities for Preschool here!
Originally published March 2011. Updated February 2025.