When you say educational puzzles, it means creating a distinction between a regular puzzle and once that can be used as an aid for education. The truth is that puzzles in general are educational in nature. Toddlers will benefit a lot from the knobbed puzzles or those that are made from cardboards which are cut into simple shapes. Children then proceed to the use of the more complex ones made from silhouettes of real world objects. Puzzles have three major benefits that make them educational for early childhood development and education. These three are as follows: physical skills, emotional skills, and cognitive skills.
Cognitive skills are developed as they solve the puzzles by analysis. Physical skills can be developed by holding the pieces and turning them until they fit accordingly. Emotional skills on the other hand may be developed through patience while solving the puzzle and dealing with delay of gratification that comes with it.
These three basic skills are believed to be the foundation of a well-rounded individual. The puzzle is also seen by experts as providing an activity for kids to do that culminates in a happy end. Doing puzzles with a loved one or a friend also helps in social skill development.
There are specific skill sets that are developed under physical, emotional, and cognitive. For physical skills, the following are developed on a child: hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and gross motor skills. For cognitive skills, the following skill sets are developed on your child: Â concentration and focus, problem solving, shape recognition, memory, and spatial understanding and awareness. For emotional skills, the following skill sets will be developed on your child: learning to be patient, developing self-esteem and social skills, and goal setting.
Let’s discuss with some of these specific skills sets starting with concentration and focus. According to child development experts, children can only concentrate for a short period, specifically at 2 to 5 times their age. Following the equation, it means a four-year-old can only concentrate for 8 to 20 minutes.
By playing with puzzles, a kid is given the chance to focus on one thing without interruption for a particular period. This helps to enhance their concentration muscles. It is important to choose the age-appropriate puzzles for your kid to optimize its benefits. Otherwise, the kid may get bored and leave the activity if the puzzle is too easy or too difficult for his/her age.
Knowledge on various areas may also be developed through puzzle solving. Puzzles may vary various topics such as parts of the body, geography, planets and space, plants and animals, etc. Montessori schools for instance are popular for the use of puzzles that deal with zoology and botany. Furthe education may be provided to the kids by explaining the images on the puzzles.