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5 Brain-Building Benefits of Puzzles!
- EI Editor Posted On Jan 24, 2022
January 29th is National Puzzle Day, the perfect time to pull out your brain games and puzzles! Why? Well, there are bigtime benefits to puzzle play and brain teaser games, for both kids and adults. The biggest reasons to knot your little one’s noggin include:
Introducing Early Math Skills
Puzzles teach several basic math skills, including the fact that a whole is made up of parts (hello, fractions!). Puzzles also practice spatial reasoning, a key early math skill: which sized- and shaped-piece will fill which hole?
Practicing Important Social Emotional Skills
Puzzles and brain teaser games like our best-selling Kanoodle® require focus, patience, and resilience. What are you trying to accomplish? How might you get there? What else can you try if that didn’t work? Completing a puzzle also provides an incredible sense of confidence-building accomplishment.
Building Fine Motor Skills
Manipulating puzzle and brain game pieces builds fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Specifically, picking up and placing puzzle pieces has been linked to better handwriting skills.
Promoting Problem Solving Abilities
Puzzles and brain teasers have just one correct solution, requiring critical thinking (will this piece fit there?), logic (if that piece went there, which piece goes here?), and memory (did I already try that piece there?) skills. And the more they’re exercised, the stronger these skills become!
Working As a Team
Little ones often like to do things “self”, but puzzles are a great opportunity to work together, as a family. Assigning each member a specific job can help: maybe your little one finds the edge pieces, while their sibling separates pieces by color.
Building your little one’s brain is easy, with puzzles! Set aside some family puzzle time each night, set out a puzzle game and see who picks it up (with plenty of brain building games like BrainBolt® and nine different versions of our best-selling Kanoodle, we’ve got the perfect puzzle for every kiddo!), and be sure to model the importance of puzzle play with your own crosswords and sudoku!
9 Must-Have Stocking Stuffers Approved by Santa Himself
Old St. Nick gives two mittened thumbs up to these curiosity-sparking, brain-teasing, creativity-inspiring toys and games perfect for stuffing those stockings!1. Keep those kiddos busy all winter break with a set of four different Special Edition Playfoam® Jumbo Pods! Including glow in the dark, sparkle, mermaidy, and unicornish colors, this set has plenty of Playfoam for squishy, squashy sculptors to create whatever their holiday hearts desire. Plus, non-toxic Playfoam won’t stick to carpet or clothes, so you can say so long to slime forever. For ages 3+. $5.99 for a set of four on Amazon!
2. Fill Christmas day with hours of pretend play, thanks to Playfoam® Pals™! Choose from a variety of themes – each pack is filled with a pod of squishy, squashy Playfoam and a hidden Pal. Kids dig it out, then use the Playfoam to build the perfect props for playtime. For ages 5+. 2-packs $7.99-11.99 on Amazon.
3. Creative Christmas cuties can make a merry masterpiece with Color by Playfoam®! Choose a unicorn or a dragon, then use the included tool to squish the Playfoam into each section of the canvas. Show off your creation, then scoop it out and start all over again – Playfoam never dries out so kids can create again and again. For ages 5+. $7.86 on Amazon.
4. Overstimulated much? Calm the Christmas day crazies with Playfoam® Pluffle™, the mesmerizing, mixable, can’t resistible, feel-good fluffy stuff that never dries out! Flip it over and watch it flow, scoop some up and see it slither, or use it as a base in your festive sensory bin. For ages 5+. 2-packs $15.99 on Amazon.
5. It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Santa, flying back to the North Pole! With GeoSafari® Jr. Kidnoculars®, the only binoculars designed specifically for kids, little explorers can scope out all kinds of things! Kidnoculars offer focus-free, 2x magnification, enlarged eyepieces and foolproof placement goggles, and a breakaway neck strap for frustration-free, holiday break backyard exploration. For ages 3+. $14.18 on Amazon.
6. Fruitcake-fueled brains can put their strategic thinking skills to the test with Kanoodle®, the noodle-knotting solitaire game featuring 200 2-D and 3-D puzzles. Start by placing the pieces shown in the puzzle book, then use your smarts to pace the remaining pieces and solve the puzzle. Small enough for a stocking, this solo-play game will also give Mama a few minutes to herself ????. For ages 7+. $8.39 on Amazon.
7. A topsy-turvy twist on traditional Kanoodle®, Kanoodle® Flip features flipping puzzle pieces! Players set the matching block shape on the starting space indicated, then flip the block to the finishing line in as few moves as possible. Jingle bell bonus: your kids will be building strategic thinking and problem-solving skills as they try to beat their own best scores. For ages 7+. $14.99 on Amazon.
8. If your kiddo has mastered classic Kanoodle, Christmas is the perfect time to up their outer space game with Kanoodle® Cosmic! Players place the pieces shown in the puzzle book, then fill the empty spaces with the remaining pieces, including six asymmetrical shapes that fit four different ways! Two hundred puzzle challenges will keep kids coming back for more. For ages 7+. $12.99 on Amazon.
9. Light up Christmas night with BrainBolt™, the ultimate memory test! Kids take turns memorizing the light sequence shown, then following along as long as they can without breaking the pattern. For ages 7+. $21.99 on Amazon.
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Step Away from the Desk: 8 No-Screen After-School Activity Ideas
Whether your kiddo is spending their school day sitting at a desk at home, or they’re back in the classroom, masked, working hard to follow social distancing, hand washing, and no-contact play rules, they are going to be ready for a break once the school day is done. But that doesn’t have to mean screen time! Below are some of our favorite screen-free, take-a-break activities designed to spark curiosity, creativity, and imagination through good old-fashioned PLAY!1. Get the Wiggles Out!Little ones weren’t built to sit still for extended periods of time. Turn on some tunes and throw a crazy dance party or get those Kindergarten crazies out with the Magic Moves® Electronic Wand! This amazing electronic wand features 90 fun, physical commands, twinkling light shows, and 26 different musical tunes. Your kids will be stomping like dinosaurs, soaring like eagles, and so much more, all the while building their vocabularies and practicing following directions.
2. Set Up a Scavenger Hunt!Make a list of 10 things to find in your home or your backyard and let your little one loose! Early readers can practice sounding out the items they’re searching for – then let them make a list of things for you to find, to practice their writing and spelling skills. Take a twist on traditional scavenger hunts by having your kiddos search for items that are specific colors (check out the smarties at iheartcraftythings.com), or for objects that start with each letter of the alphabet.
Photo credit: iheartcraftythings.com3. Go Creepy Crawly!Speaking of outdoor activities, kids can soak up a little vitamin D – and some serious science skills! – with the GeoSafari® Jr. Bugnoculars. Little scientists can catch and observe critters, leaves, flowers, and more in this bug-friendly, kid-cool, transparent container. It's perfect for STEM learning! Bonus points if kids sketch their finds in a notebook, give their friends names, or write silly stories about them![caption id="attachment_6915" align="alignnone" width="840"]
GeoSafari® Jr. Bugnoculars[/caption]4. Rock On!Rock painting does double activity duty – first a walk to search for your “canvasses”, followed by an arts and crafts session to paint them! Use acrylic paints to create free form designs, seasonal objects (think pumpkins, turkeys, or snowflakes), or quotes. We love the kind and crafty ideas on the Curious Doodle blog! In addition to bolstering creativity, painting is also a great way to build those fine motor skills.
Photo credit: curiousdoodle.com5. Get Strategic!If your sweetie just needs some space after a long day of schooling, settle them down with Kanoodle®! This best-selling, award-winning solo play game is a great way to lose yourself for a little while. Place the puzzle pieces as shown, then figure out how to fit the remaining pieces to solve the puzzle, building strategic thinking and problem-solving skills as they do. And with 200 puzzles to solve, your kids will be busy for hours. As you know, educational toys and games are our specialty. Check our more brain teasers and brain games here.[caption id="attachment_6888" align="alignnone" width="840"]
EI Strategy Games & Brain Teasers[/caption]6. Chalk It Up!Chalk art had a moment during the pandemic – you may have seen the trendy designs around your own neighborhood. Your kids can make their own chalk masterpieces – and get some hands-on practice with shapes and colors – following the super simple instructions at TheIdeaRoom.net.
Photo credit: TheIdeaRoom.net7. Squish the Stress Away!Squishy, squashy Playfoam® is perfect for sculpting! Squish it into shape, smash it down, and start again – this non-toxic substance never dries out so kids can use it again and again. Sculpt cats, dogs, snowmen, or butterflies, or use it to create letters and spell your child’s name! Playfoam also offers endless ways to learn through play! You'll love these learning activity ideas for solo play and even more creative fun![caption id="attachment_6856" align="alignnone" width="595"]
Photo credit: @mayra_valdez[/caption]8. Go Fly a Kite!Flying a kite is a science lesson unto itself – and so is making one! Follow the simple instructions on this video from EasyArtyCrafty to create your own flying machine, then take it for a test spin. If your kids love being outside, you can find other great outdoor activity ideas on our blog!Relaxing time doesn’t have to mean screen time. Give these ideas a go, then find other fun ideas for screen-free learning activities here! READ MORE
