Activity: Puzzle Fun

Help your child build self-esteem and important thinking skills, by working and creating fun puzzles.

Materials:
2, 3 or more age-appropriate puzzles

Directions:
Set out the box tops of two or three age-appropriate puzzles (preferably new or unfamiliar to your child), and provide your child with the pieces for only one of the puzzles.

Talk about It: Ask your child how important it was for him/her to use all the pieces of the puzzle to see the whole picture that matched the box top. Then help your child make a connection between puzzling a picture together and telling the truth by sharing that every part of a story needs to be shared for the whole truth to be understood.

Take it Further: Make a homemade puzzle by covering a piece of cardboard or poster board with photos or magazine pictures. When the glue is dry, cut up the picture into puzzle pieces and store in a baggy or small container. Think about creating puzzles with seasonal or holiday themes to enjoy with family and friends.

With a Group: How about a super-sized mural puzzle? Collect pictures of group members; enough to cover a mural-sized piece of paper of poster boards glued together, or have a group picture enlarged. Cut mural into large puzzle pieces. Attach a piece of Velcro onto the back of each picture. Place matching pieces of Velcro onto wall. Mix up puzzle pieces. Have children place puzzle pieces together by having timed group races or individual contests. Option: Children may also form a human puzzle by holding each piece in its respective place away from a wall.