Thursday 24 October 2013

WHY ALL THE BIG FUSS ABOUT PUZZLES??



If you have a child in nursery school or early primary, you have probably had their teacher advise that you encourage them to do more puzzles at home?! This activity comes easier and is more enjoyable for some kids than others, but it's necessary to get every child proficient in this activity( whether they like it or not) because puzzles are so important for developing many skills! 

I started doing puzzles with my daughter when she was three. She is six now, and she can comfortably build a 100-120peice puzzle.  Puzzles were never her favourite thing (and still aren't) but the skills she has developed through this exercise are benefiting her immensely in this foundational stage of building her numeracy and literacy skills. 

The following are some of the benefits brought about by puzzle making:

1) Concentration
2) Problem solving
3) Reasoning
4) Pre-reading skills
5)Matching and colour recognition
6) Fine motor control 
7)  Hand/eye coordination
8) Background/Foreground discrimination

All these skills are so vital for a child to grasp in their early stages in order for them to competently engage and excel at the higher levels of intellectual development. If you want your child to be confident and competent in school and beyond, invest well in these foundational disciplines! 

What other benefits of puzzle making can you share with us? What puzzle making benefits have you noticed in your own kids? Does your child enjoy puzzles? What challenges have you faced in this area of puzzle making? 

3 comments:

  1. I'd add "quiet time" as a benefit :)..seriously. the benefits you have mentioned are excellent especially in school readiness. Here in Zim part of the grade 1 enrollment interview is a puzzle for checking the child's aptitude in the areas mentioned in the blog. So one has nothing to lose but all to gain. The challenge is in getting them started and interested. Looney toons had (got ours in 2007) huge A3 size puzzles which have a story to them so you combine puzzle making with story telling. we have a tweety bird one which was my eldest's favourite and now handed down. It has about 8 puzzles in the "book" with big pieces then you work your way to smaller pieces as they grow older. I must say 100 piece puzzle is impressive, well done Twinkldom's daughter! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol! Yes! Quiet time certainly is a benefit. The activity requires concentration so...yes...one does get a short period of 'peace' when a child is busy with a puzzle. You contribution, Tavonga, on combining puzzle making and storytelling is an excellent way to get a child interested in this activity. Thankyou!

      Delete
  2. I will hasten to say that the only reason why my daughter can do a 100-120peice puzzle comfortably at the age of six, is because she has been developed in that habit. Just required a bit of consistency on my part and then going at it at her own pace. A child loses interest if the activity is either too easy or too hard. Likewise, in puzzle making, whilst being consistent one needs to ensure that they are building at the level and pace of the child's development

    ReplyDelete