Forum:

kids

picture puzzles for skill building

Jay Angler

master steward

Posts: 13710

Location: Pacific Wet Coast

8061

I like...

posted 8 months ago

16
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

For my family, and my friend's family, assembling picture puzzles is a holiday, non-competitive sport that doesn't involve screens - what's not to like?

We started at an early age with not just kids puzzles, but with building alongside adults, adult puzzles. In those days, there weren't that many around, so rebuilding once a year was a thing we were known to do if we had a week of rain!

But let's consider the permaculture skills we can build and support through just 3 puzzle building skills:

1. Colour and tone recognition and matching.

2. Attention to detail.

3. Shape recognitions.

And some permaculture skills: Plant ID (1, 2, 3), Insect ID (1,2,3), Repairing equipment (2, 3), Planning gardens/plantings (1, 2, 3) etc

And some living skills: Sewing (1, 2, 3), Cooking j(1, 2, 3), Schooling (1, 2, 3)

So I just thought I'd put a plug in for parents not to overlook this fun way to support skill building even on the holidays. Just because it's fun, doesn't mean it isn't a valuable resource!

Visit Redhawk's soil series: https://permies.com/wiki/redhawk-soil
How permies.com works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads

oddball - sand badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by Mike Haasl

textiles - air badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by Mike Haasl

dimensional lumber woodworking - air badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by jordan barton

Food Prep and Preservation - air badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by Leigh Tate

greywater and willow feeders - air badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by Leigh Tate

Rachel Lindsay

gardener

Posts: 1416

Location: Tennessee

925

I like...

posted 7 months ago

7
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Like math and dancing, I have always struggled with puzzles. My 8 yo likes to do puzzles sometimes, and I am glad to consider all those benefits for her brain that you listed above. Jigsaw puzzles take patience, careful attention, and keenness of observation, wonderful things to develop in a growing person. It is a wonderful screen-free activity for Winter, thanks for pointing it out!

“If we are honest, we can still love what we are, we can find all the good there is to find, and we may find ways to enhance that good, and to find a new kind of living world which is appropriate for our time.” ― Christopher Alexander

Jill Dyer

pollinator

Posts: 362

Location: Oz; Centre South

I like...

posted 7 months ago

5
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Ah-ha lightglobe moment - Tangrams. Set of shapes that can be assembled into all sorts of images. Also could be crafted in wood by anyone handy enough with the tools. Count me out, I keep away from sharp objects. Also on-line versions for the non-tactile. To get started:-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangram ( and were are lots of other images of how the pieces work when I did the search to get the spelling correct).

I've always liked jig-saws though.

Life's too short, eat desert first! [Source of quote unknown]
You have to be warped to weave [ditto!]

Nancy Reading

steward and tree herder

Posts: 10734

Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland. Nearly 70 inches rain a year

5103

I like...

posted 7 months ago

8
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

I love jigsaws! Non-competitive? Who else had problems with their sisters hiding the last piece so they could do it?!

How Permies works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads
My projects on Skye: The tree field, Growing and landracing, perennial polycultures, "Don't dream it - be it! "

Michael Cox

pollinator

Posts: 3912

Location: Kent, UK - Zone 8

719

I like...

posted 7 months ago

2
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

I still do that to my mother in law :P

Moderator, Treatment Free Beekeepers group on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/treatmentfreebeekeepers/

PEP - BB5 Badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by gir bot

woodland care - air badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by Ash Jackson

animal care - air badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by Ash Jackson

Food Prep and Preservation - air badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by Ash Jackson

community living - air badge (verified skill)
Skill verified by Ash Jackson

j flynn

Posts: 45

I like...

posted 7 months ago

8
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Hi, jigsaw puzzles were a great sanity saver while I was in rehab after an accident. I would do them in the common room and others would come in and some would help, so the puzzles let to some socialization- good for all of us. Rehab is very isolating.

Molly Conomy

Posts: 16

Location: Ohio

I like...

posted 7 months ago

8
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

We are puzzle fanatics. I still have some of the puzzles I used to do with my grandmother 30 years ago. When we had the space, it was not uncommon to have a puzzle set out that we would all work on over the course of several days. Now we have to do them on large plastic trays (one is from the bottom of a dog crate) and slide them under the sofa.

I got my older daughter, 14, who is the most obsessed, a couple 1000/2000 piecers for Christmas. One of them was the "tree of life" with all the evolutionary branches. Yesterday I heard the younger one, 9, telling her older sister, "you're just an odd-toed ungulate!" So yes, they can be educational! 😂

One type we never do is photographic puzzles. I guess maybe because the photos are usually fairly boring, like what you'd see on the free calendar from the nature conservancy. There's a lot of really cool puzzle art out there though. Growing up with grandma it was mainly Charles Wysocki - I just ❤️ the simple little figures and all the farm animals!

molly

Molly Conomy

Posts: 16

Location: Ohio

I like...

posted 7 months ago

4
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

j flynn wrote:Hi, jigsaw puzzles were a great sanity saver while I was in rehab after an accident. I would do them in the common room and others would come in and some would help, so the puzzles let to some socialization- good for all of us. Rehab is very isolating.

I had this experience too! Puzzles are a great social activity!

Chris Pate

Posts: 11

I like...

posted 7 months ago

5
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

It's a skill that can be developed with practice. My friends sister in law does a 1000 piece puzzle in an hour every morning before work. Part of her routine to keep sharp! (It's a miracle to me.)

Cimarron Layne

Posts: 69

Location: Sold the farm in Virginia and set off to find a permie community

I like...

posted 7 months ago

11
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

I'm a jigsaw addict and usually have one in some stage of completion on my 8-ft dining table which is seldom used for dining. Usually they are 1,000 piece or larger. I have one that is 3,000 pieces that I do about every 5 years or so. That one takes me about a month of "spare" time, and like a favorite movie, I don't mind that it's a rerun.

I think doing puzzles keeps my mind sharp. There's sorting by color or pattern; spatial relations, i.e., looking for pieces the right shape and size; manual dexterity handling and turning small pieces; visual acuity; patience building and other emotional training, like handling frustration.

Then, as one of the posters mentioned, there's camaraderie if you work with other people. I used to live in a large RV park in Texas that had a community library with 100's of jigsaw puzzles and a half-dozen long tables to work them on. I'd hate it when anyone would mess with my puzzle, but now I enjoy doing them with a neighbor family with sometimes 4 or 5 people sitting around the table. Each of us picks a section of the puzzle to work on, and we have a lot of laughs. If we find a piece that doesn't go in the section we are working on, we try to figure out where it does go and pass it off to the appropriate person. Frequently, they say, "Ah-ha, that's the very piece I've been searching for." It's like we gave each other gifts. Quite satisfying.

Joy and abundance, Cory "Cimarron" Layne - Building a Permaculture community on 30 acres in SW Virginia Appalachian Foothills. Still looking for liberty-loving, resilient people ready for a challenge. PM me with your email address for more info.

Jay Angler

master steward

Posts: 13710

Location: Pacific Wet Coast

8061

I like...

posted 7 months ago

9
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Molly Conomy wrote: Now we have to do them on large plastic trays (one is from the bottom of a dog crate) and slide them under the sofa.

Excellent point - my Daughter in Law and I were just discussing that issue. We made the mistake of starting a large puzzle on the dining room table without removing the table cloth and silencer first - bad plan! The puzzle wasn't fully locking pieces to begin with, and pieces kept coming loose.

I don't think the dog crate trays that I have are large enough for the puzzles in the queue, but I will check them with a tape measure, as that sounds like a good idea. I do use kitchen trays for sorting and doing portions of builds on, and both my sister and my friend have "cake lifters" which are a wide, flat metal spatula-like thing which are very helpful for moving sections of puzzle around. This would be more important for adult puzzles than smaller children's ones, but as Molly also wrote, her 14 year old is already working on large puzzles.

Visit Redhawk's soil series: https://permies.com/wiki/redhawk-soil
How permies.com works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads

Derek Thille

gardener

Posts: 480

Location: Southern Manitoba...bald(ish) prairie, zone 3ish

226

I like...

posted 7 months ago

7
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

She Who Must Be Obeyed really enjoys jigsaw puzzles.

To address the moving aspect, we got this puzzle roll. There are also puzzle caddies like a large thin briefcase.

We have a set of plastic scrapers that help us to move sections a bit, especially since the felt roll acts sort of sticky for the cardboard back of puzzle pieces.

Perhaps it is just my eyes or the lighting we have in the dining room, but I struggle quite a bit with glare on the puzzles. I think it would be wonderful if puzzles had a matte finish to reduce glare, but that's just me.

We usually manage at least one puzzle over the holidays. There is sometimes the conundrum that the puzzle roll still contains an unfinished puzzle patiently awaiting completion.

Working toward a permaculture-strong retirement near sunny Sperling.

Randy Butler

Posts: 126

Location: Coastal Maine

posted 7 months ago

6
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

My sister and our Mum were fanatics - for Christmas gifts, the only puzzles that were worth their time were the ones with the same picture printed on the front and back!
It was either that, or we had to mix all the pieces of multiple puzzles into the same box.
Yes, one might call them competitive! But they sure loved the challenge!

Suzanne Jabs

Posts: 55

Location: Willamette Valley, OR

posted 7 months ago

10
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

I love puzzles, too. One summer when my son was really into Legos, he and his buddy would be busy with Legos all day, so I took over the spare room and built a 5000-pc puzzle on the wood floor. Possibly my best summer as an adult! I tried it again 2 years ago, but sitting on the floor all day now was too much for my old bones.

My table only fits 1000 piecers, usually. Someone in my neighborhood recently started a Little Free Puzzle Library. It's a perfect mile or so walk there, grab a new puzzle, leave an old one. I love it!

Glad to hear from so many puzzle enthusiasts!

Nancy Reading

steward and tree herder

Posts: 10734

Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland. Nearly 70 inches rain a year

5103

I like...

posted 7 months ago

9
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

My Grandad used to buy my mum and her brother a jigsaw at christmas every year. These were lovely post war hand cut plywood jigsaws. When we visited my Gran we used to gather round and do a puzzle together. One of the interesting things about these puzzles is that they didn't include a guide picture, so you just had a title to work from. To this day I still quite like doing puzzles without using the picture, which somehow seems like cheating! Another feature was that the cutter would include several 'whimsy' pieces that were non jigsaw shapes, like a boat or a squirrel.
These puzzles sometimes come up in vintage toy shops, but I'm lucky enough to be custodian of the family ones now.
Here's one on ebay:

source

How Permies works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads
My projects on Skye: The tree field, Growing and landracing, perennial polycultures, "Don't dream it - be it! "

Jesse Glessner

Posts: 477

Location: Indiana

posted 7 months ago

5
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Suzanne Jabs wrote: My table only fits 1000 piecers, usually. Someone in my neighborhood recently started a Little Free Puzzle Library. It's a perfect mile or so walk there, grab a new puzzle, leave an old one. I love it!
Glad to hear from so many puzzle enthusiasts!

For more space try putting a larger piece of 3/4"plywood on top of your card table and if necessary stick it back in a corner. Works great, but round over the edges of the plywood! Use the 3/4" plywood so it doesn't warp or sag. It usually holds its shape well in heated rooms.

That Puzzle lending library is a GREAT idea. I'm going to suggest that to some other locals!

JayGee

Nancy Reading

steward and tree herder

Posts: 10734

Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland. Nearly 70 inches rain a year

5103

I like...

posted 4 months ago

6
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

A couple of puzzles done recently whilst on a visit.

I especially like the coloured wool boxes one. It is entitled 'wall of wool' and is the yarn storage area for the Royal School of Needlework. I like to think of the embroiderers trying to find the right colour!

The other is a little puzzle brought from Australia. Especially difficult because the picture on the box was for a different puzzle. Many of the pieces have little spirals that interlock. That makes the orientation of the pieces a little more tricky too.

wool_puzzle.jpg

curly_piece_puzzle.jpg

How Permies works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads
My projects on Skye: The tree field, Growing and landracing, perennial polycultures, "Don't dream it - be it! "

Jay Angler

master steward

Posts: 13710

Location: Pacific Wet Coast

8061

I like...

posted 4 months ago

5
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

That parrot one is gorgeous! Is it made of wood? My friend bought a group of small wood ones, and they are definitely tricky to assemble.

Visit Redhawk's soil series: https://permies.com/wiki/redhawk-soil
How permies.com works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads

Nancy Reading

steward and tree herder

Posts: 10734

Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland. Nearly 70 inches rain a year

5103

I like...

posted 4 months ago

7
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Yes Jay. I think it is lazer cut ply.
The image is rather splendid, but difficult as a puzzle especially without the picture. It isn't a regular shape, so you can't use the edges as a frame. There is no unifying feature, so you have to it section by section.
Very satisfying when it is done however!

How Permies works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads
My projects on Skye: The tree field, Growing and landracing, perennial polycultures, "Don't dream it - be it! "

Jeremy VanGelder

gardener

Posts: 1595

Location: Proebstel, Washington, USDA Zone 6B

989

I like...

posted 4 months ago

7
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

We have a number of map puzzles. Several of them have the United States on them, so my boys know the names of all the states.

Now, if there were puzzles with the names of a bunch of different plant families. Or just botanical illustrations, that would be very useful to us.

Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.

Jay Angler

master steward

Posts: 13710

Location: Pacific Wet Coast

8061

I like...

posted 4 months ago

6
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Jeremy VanGelder wrote: Now, if there were puzzles with the names of a bunch of different plant families.

That would be awesome! Something based on Thomas J. Elpel's "Botany in a Day" would be great. Unfortunately, I don't have a laser cutter in my back pocket.

My Daughter in Law found a great one aimed at late primary or middle school students that is of the periodic table. Fun enough that we adults built it, since we don't have younglings around yet.

Visit Redhawk's soil series: https://permies.com/wiki/redhawk-soil
How permies.com works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads

Tim Siemens

pollinator

Posts: 160

Location: Northern British Columbia Zone 3

I like...

posted 4 months ago

9
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

We also enjoy a puzzle during the holidays. Its a great activity for cold winter evenings. My brother's store stocks thousands of puzzles and through him I discovered that there are huge (32,000pieces) That's to big for me but there must be someone who wants a challenge that size.

482077802_611041261781616_4303843951282239304_n.jpg

No man is an island.

Anne Miller

steward

Posts: 17454

Location: USDA Zone 8a

4462

I like...

posted 4 months ago

3
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

I love jigsaw puzzles. And yes, great skill builder.

Several years ago Burra posted an online one with some of her pictures.

I had a lot of fun time with that one.

Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner

Jay Angler

master steward

Posts: 13710

Location: Pacific Wet Coast

8061

I like...

posted 4 months ago

5
Number of slices to send:

Optional 'thank-you' note:

Send

Tim Siemens wrote:... My brother's store stocks thousands of puzzles and through him I discovered that there are huge (32,000pieces) ...

My Daughter in Law bought a 3000 piece one, and I told her never again. Not only do we not have enough spare time in our lives, but it's too big for the space we have.

We currently are building 1000 piece puzzles on a piece of salvaged plywood. This way if we need the table it's on, it's easy to move. Unfortunately, 2 puzzles ago, it was about 1 row too wide for the plywood - what a pain! Now we're checking the size before starting.

I am thinking more about the Botany Puzzle - I need to find someone with a laser cutter.

Not nearly as nice, but I wonder if a 3D printer could "print" a puzzle that we could then glue a picture to? It would likely be difficult to do beyond a large piece children's puzzle.

Visit Redhawk's soil series: https://permies.com/wiki/redhawk-soil
How permies.com works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads

You ought to ventilate your mind and let the cobwebs out of it. Use this cup to catch the tiny ads:

Learn Permaculture through a little hard work

https://wheaton-labs.com/bootcamp