Over the past several weeks, there has been a great deal of interest in puzzles. Some of the children like to do peg puzzles, and others prefer to do floor puzzles. Many of the children have been working together to complete puzzles, while a few prefer to do it by themselves. It’s very interesting to watch the different strategies that children use. Puzzles offer many opportunities to develop cognitive, social-emotional, and physical skills. When completing a puzzle, children are developing problem-solving abilities, persistence, and self-confidence.
Often, puzzles are self-correcting, meaning that children can recognize when the piece is in the
incorrect spot and work by themselves to adjust their approach and keep trying. This builds resilience.
As educators, we facilitate learning by expanding on ideas and adding to the environment based
on our observations about the children’s interests in learning. After observing the interest in puzzles, we wondered if they would be interested in connecting other things too. We put out some
Duplo and some stacking puzzles and they have been very interested in these new opportunities
too.
Often, puzzles are self-correcting, meaning that children can recognize when the piece is in the
incorrect spot and work by themselves to adjust their approach and keep trying. This builds resilience.
As educators, we facilitate learning by expanding on ideas and adding to the environment based
on our observations about the children’s interests in learning. After observing the interest in puzzles, we wondered if they would be interested in connecting other things too. We put out some
Duplo and some stacking puzzles and they have been very interested in these new opportunities
too.
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