Eight stages of jigsaw puzzle development

Although the development speed of each child is quite different, generally speaking, children can try to play puzzles at the age of one.

Referring to KDIs, jigsaw puzzles can help children develop the following skills:

:: Solving problems;

* sense of efficacy: the ability to make a confident choice (even if the result is uncertain);

Fine motor development: fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination;

* Classification: identification and matching of colors, shapes and patterns;

* The relationship between the whole and the parts: the identification of the whole components and their relationship with the whole;

* Spatial awareness

The development of jigsaw puzzles has the following eight stages:

1) One-to-one correspondence: children can fill in the puzzle pieces when they find the depressions in the puzzle. He usually tries to fill in any puzzle piece (regardless of color or shape) in the depression.

2) Matching depressions and puzzle pieces: He realized that each depression has only one corresponding part. Tend to rely on color to find the right puzzle.

3) Distinguish the difference between size and shape: Now, children can put together puzzles according to color, size and shape, and usually find the correct puzzle piece or position faster. However, it is not known to rotate the puzzle pieces to put them into the grooves. He may give up the correct puzzle piece and try another incorrect puzzle piece.

4) Operation: He will turn the puzzle pieces to see if they match.

Note: At any of the above stages, after completing the puzzle, children can complete the puzzle independently again with their own memory and fine motor skills. Next, you can play those common puzzles.

5) Related puzzle pieces and classification: children can see the relationship between puzzle pieces; Begin to classify and group according to the similarity of colors and patterns. He began to discover the subtle differences between the fragments; And you can compare the puzzle with the finished picture on the outer package of the puzzle box, and understand that the scaling ratio of the two is different. You may not know what some puzzles with one or more straight edges mean.

6) Visualization and wholeness and parts: He can now "see" the whole picture of the puzzle in his mind (for example, the puzzle with black line segments will form a continuous line when connected together). He can see both the part and the whole. (For example, the clown puzzle: Even if it is of different shapes and colors, children can classify the pieces on the clown's face first, and then the legs. )

7) Mirror puzzles: Now children can do the above requirements, but sometimes mirror puzzles appear (that is, upside down or upside down). Children can reflect the whole picture in their minds and recognize the similarity of puzzle pieces, but the direction may be the opposite.

Now, children can play standard jigsaw puzzles, and they can finish them on the table even without the hint of the jigsaw puzzle base.

8) Corner puzzle: Children realize that a puzzle with two vertical sides means that it should be placed in the corner. And he knows that there are only four such puzzles, and he will actively look for them. Realizing that there is only one straight puzzle piece means that it should be placed on the edge.

At the end of the first grade, children usually enter the fifth stage (or maybe the eighth stage). If he still can't reach Stage 6 and Stage 7 in the fourth grade, he may have a learning disability.

When the child is not sure where to put the next puzzle, let him talk about how his previous puzzles were put together. When playing with him, control your impulse to tell him directly where to put the puzzle pieces. By asking questions to demonstrate how to solve problems, you can ask him, "What do these two puzzles have in common for you to put them together?" "This puzzle piece has a straight edge. Where should I put it? " Don't forget to be a cheerleader and say "yeah!" When the child succeeds. .