I have written in a previous post how puzzles can help young children develop important hand-eye coordination and motor skills. Puzzles are a fun way for children to solve a problem and to enjoy a picture or design at the end as the solution. They get a very real sense of accomplishment when they have put all the pieces together on their own.

This puzzle goes a step further than most puzzles for young children. Made from sturdy wood, the puzzle is actually in three layers and each layer is a step involved in growing a garden. As the child constructs the puzzle, the story emerges.

In the first layer the child sees a young boy and girl carefully planting seeds into the earth. The sky is blue and birds fly merrily up above. In the second layer they see that their efforts are paying off! The plants are growing, but there's still more work to do. Weeds need to be taken out and the plants still need watering. Finally, in the last and topmost layer, they can barely see the children! After all of their work, the sunflowers are growing tall and strong.

With twelve shapes in total, this puzzle teaches colour, shape, size, sequence, and problem solving. Children over 2 years will love the bright colours and chunky pieces.

For more information on where to buy, go to Right to Learn Toys

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image by ceeceemac55

Solving puzzles is a great way for young children to develop important hand-eye coordination and motor skills. The most basic of puzzles are those which include shape sorting, whereby a child is required to manipulate various shaped blocks and place them in the appropriately shaped slot. These are suitable for children as young as one, and will help them develop very basic problem solving skills as well as hand-eye coordination.

Jigsaw puzzles are very popular among children. Jigsaws with increasing levels of difficulty are available for a wide range of ages and developmental stages. Jigsaw puzzles utilise a handful of specifically shaped pieces that fit into corresponding holes in a board. The number of pieces can range from as few as four up to a thousand. Often with puzzles for younger children, the jigsaw pieces are decorated so that when placed together correctly they form an entire picture. Completing these simple puzzles not only aids hand-eye coordination but also will help develop a child’s memory. Jigsaws designed for older children may include letters and numbers to help familiarise them with the alphabet and learn basic numeric skills.

Other puzzles designed for children rely on the matching of shapes and colours. These will again aid hand-eye coordination, but will also encourage your child to distinguish between different shapes and colours. These are basic problem solving skills, but are essential for them to develop and ready themselves for bigger challenges.

Puzzles are an invaluable aide for skill development. However, it is important to introduce children to those that are suitable for their age group. Young children in particular can get very frustrated with puzzles that they cannot solve. Often this is simply because they haven’t yet developed the necessary hand-eye coordination or thought processes required to complete them.

Introducing puzzles to children at a young age is an enjoyable way for them to develop important manual dexterity, memory, and coordination skills. As they get older, they will be able to advance to more complicated puzzles promoting development of language and numeric skills. It is important to help your child with puzzles initially. As they become more comfortable with the idea of puzzles, they will be able to complete them on their own, providing a rewarding experience for both you and your child.

Puzzles for children from age one and up including jigsaws, wooden puzzles, spelling, number, and a variety of other educational puzzles are available at BrainGrow Toys.
Pam Fallon - CEOhttp://braingrowtoys.com

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Word search puzzles are pen and paper puzzles containing a grid of letters. The player's task is to locate words hidden within this grid. Each word is in a straight line, but can be placed in any direction, horizontally (left to right, or right to left), vertically (upwards or downwards), or diagonally. Just to make the puzzle that little bit more difficult, words may overlap or intersect, and of course not every letter in the grid is actually part of a word.

Most children seem to enjoy solving word search puzzles - they're an enjoyable way to pass the time. Parents often like these puzzles too, as they can keep the kids busy, instead of getting bored, on a rainy day, or during a long plane or train journey.

It should also be remembered that while word search puzzles are mainly about fun, they can also have educational benefits too. Solving a word search puzzle requires concentration and attention to detail. Furthermore, in order to solve these puzzles, kids need to focus on the exact spelling of words.

It is possible to buy books printed with word search puzzles, however a more flexible option is for a parent or teacher to create the puzzles themselves with the help a computer and word search puzzle maker software. Simply enter a list of words, and the computer can generate a puzzle in an instant! Doing it this way has the big advantage that you can tailor the puzzle, for example choosing words based on this week's spelling list or around class project, or perhaps turning off some of the more difficult directions when creating puzzles for younger kids.

By S. Tanna. To create your printable word search puzzles for kids, please go to http://www.wordsearchprinter.com/

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