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Are there any educational values in puzzles?

 

Are you looking for a convenient way to help your child grow? Have you ever thought about the benefits that puzzles can offer?

It is a proven fact that there are many primary skills that a child can develop when constructing puzzles. Persistence and adaptable thinking are learned with the kids’ search for different ways in making the puzzle pieces fit together properly.

A child’s hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills are also improved by maneuvering the puzzle pieces and fitting them in their proper locations. Assembling puzzles helps children enthusiastically apply crucial skills, like suggestive and deductive reasoning, categorizing, problem solving, and classifying.

The most important thing to consider when picking out a puzzle for your child is the age of your child. It is also important that the puzzle should be thought-provoking, but not so difficult that it discourages your child.

Other things that you should take into consideration are: ease of use, durability, and number of pieces. All three are important, but the following rule of thumb can be helpful when determining the appropriate puzzle to select.

  • Infants & toddlers (0-2 years): 1-2 pieces
  • Young preschoolers (3 years): 2-5 pieces
  • Older preschoolers (4-5 years): 5-10 pieces
  • School-age (5+ years): 10+ pieces

The babies lack the hand-eye coordination to put a puzzle together, but they are attracted to bright puzzle pieces, as well as puzzles that make sounds. As babies move into their toddler and preschool years, large-piece puzzles with pegs or knobs, aid in the development of a child’s hand-eye coordination and problem solving abilities. Sound puzzles help them associate sounds with objects. This is why the children learn that if a piece does not fit a certain way, it can fit a different way.

In this direction, puzzles with smaller pieces help older preschoolers continue developing their skills by challenging them to look for more details within the puzzle. These details might include matching pieces using colors or locating pieces that form an object.

One must also consider the durability of a puzzle. The younger a child is, the more durable a puzzle must be, so wooden puzzles and rubber puzzles are a much better match for little children, infants and toddlers. Cardboard puzzles are much more suitable for pre-school and school-age children.

In spite of the above mentioned types of puzzles, there are many online available resources for puzzles solving for all age ranges.
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