So much fun in a single box!
Children can start playing with puzzles from age one. Putting the puzzle pieces together train not only fine motor skills but also hand-eye coordination, perception, logical thinking, vocabulary and even physical coordination… But most importantly, you and your child can play them together. Your child will have great fun and learn a lot at the same time!
A recipe for fun
The key to selecting educational fun sets for young learners is a well-designed format and content: the appropriate amount and size of pieces, child-friendly themes and beautiful, age-adapted illustrations. Match the Baby Puzzles are intuitively simple for toddlers because the task involves fitting a circular puzzle piece into the appropriate hole. But this is just the beginning because 12 puzzles provide a lot of ways to play, all of which help develop critical skills for young learners.
Through play, your child is also:
- developing dexterity in little hands
Lay out the puzzle pieces. Give your child one of the circles and ask: “Where does this go? Where does it fit?” Wait for your child to insert the circle into a hole. Well done!
Add another puzzle and then gradually more as your child progresses.
Show your child how the piece fits into the hole, even if at first he or she inserts it upside down or with the wrong side facing up. Every match is a success!
- learning and reinforcing new words, animal names and colors
Lay out the circles in front of your child. Point to the animals and tell your child about them. “This is an owl. An owl goes ‘hoo, hoo.’” “This is a cat. A cat goes ‘meow.’ Point out and talk about details in the illustrations. “Here is its eye,” “Here is its nose,” etc.
Ask your child similar questions: “Where is the bear’s nose?,” “Where is the ladybug’s eye?,” “Where is your eye?”
Add other details step by step, pointing out paws, tails and stomachs. There are so many new, fascinating words to learn!
- exercising the mouth by producing various sounds – a great way to prepare for speaking
Meet the animal babies! Show your child the animals on the large cards. Name them and talk about the sounds they make. Say: “This is a sheep. A sheep goes ‘baa!”
Ask your child to give you the circle that fits. Choose from an increasingly larger pool of baby animals.
Onomatopoeic words include not only the sounds the animals make but also movements such as “Stomp, stomp!” or “Hop, hop!”
- Developing perception and logical thinking
Prepare one large card and three different circles, including the one that matches. Ask your child to insert the correct circle into the hole. What goes here?
Point out to your child that the animals on the circles are smaller than those pictured on the large cards. Ask your child to give you the little bear or the big bear, the little frog or the big frog, e.g. “Give me the daddy bear” or “Give me the mommy frog.” Puzzles help children learn about opposites: “same” and “different” or “large” and “small.”
If your child chooses the wrong circle, say: “Not that one. It doesn’t fit.” Show your child the right animal and ask them to try to insert the piece. Gradually increase the number of cards and circles to choose from.
- Getting healthy exercise – puzzles are great inspiration for active play
Lay out all the pieces on the floor. Draw random animal circles and imitate the animals together. Show your child how a kitten walks or how a frog jumps. Encourage your child to imitate animal movements, saying: “The bear is walking” or “The owl is flying”, etc. Exercise is healthy!
You can also lay out all the pieces on the floor and ask your child to walk between them and match the correct circle to the right card when you give instructions.
Let your imaginations run wild
The opportunity to match all the circles to the right cards provides room for some strange matches. The cards and circles can also be used for other games. You can even have fun tossing all the pieces into a box! Use our suggestions for hours of fun or invent your own. By following the natural development of your child, you can support them in the most enjoyable way possible – through play.