The American Academy of Pediatrics defines early childhood as ages one through five, encompassing the toddler and preschool periods. The development of early childhood occurs rapidly and is widely recognized as extremely important to lay the basis for future learning, including social, cognitive and motor skills necessary to handle the demands of preschool and kindergarten. During these formative years, parents and other caring people in their lives have the ability to enhance this development by wisely choosing activities that stimulate and challenge their minds.
While there are a plethora of references to the benefits of reading books, playing games, etc., this article focuses on the value of wooden puzzles as a catalyst for early childhood learning. Even with the many electronic gizmos and gadgets, often times children are attracted to simple things like a bouncy ball, interesting book and well designed, intriguing jigsaw puzzles.
The benefits of the puzzles can be grouped into the two periods of early childhood, a small child (from 1 to 3 years) and preschool (from 3 to 5 years).
Young children should be given puzzles that have large pieces and simple content. As simpler ones are mastered, caregivers can introduce puzzles with greater complexity and more/smaller pieces. As A Result, these Youngsters Will Receive The Following Benefits:
- Hand-Ojo coordination when grabbing and placing puzzle pieces.
- Knowledge of various shapes and sizes.
- Sense of pride for a job well done, improves self -confidence/self -image
- Recognition of several colors.
In addition, puzzles offer opportunities for parent/caregiver interaction with a young child, especially when a new puzzle is introduced. While it is a valuable bonding experience, it is also an opportunity to assess the appropriateness of each puzzle, even if they are too difficult or too simple, which could frustrate the young child. In addition, by having more than one jigsaw puzzle available, other children can be included in this quiet time activity, providing an excellent opportunity for social interaction.
Preschool children will continue to benefit from the puzzles, with an increasing number of pieces and a more complex/challenging content. As they build on what they learned as young children, they will receive the following additional benefits:
- Recognition of geometric shapes, such as squares, triangles, circles, etc.
- Familiarization with the letters of the alphabet and the concept of spelling.
- Ability to recognize and spell their names, as well as simple words.
- Knowledge of more complex elements in puzzles; For example, the US form and their regions/states, dinosaurs, birds, marine life, etc.
To ensure that the above benefits are achieved as much as possible, it is very important that parents, or any other person who is considering “giving” a wooden puzzle, consider the purchase considerations indicated in the following ” check list”:
- educational value
- Vivid and varied colors
- No sharp edges and size of parts to avoid choking hazard, especially with young children.
- Excellent quality and durability; The paintings/colors should not fade or crack and the pieces and marks of the puzzle should not be broken by frequent and hard use over time; Quality wooden puzzles are generally much better at meeting this criteria.
- Solid reputation of craftsmen; How long have they been in business? Check a number of testimonials/references to check customer satisfaction. Will they refund or replace the product if they are not completely satisfied?