Educational Toys : Puzzles

Promoting Individual Expression...

When it's time to slow down and focus, it's time for puzzles. Puzzles help children develop manual dexterity through the use of their hands, and to develop attention skills and focus while they a colorful artistic scene or a wild fantasy! It's time for puzzles!

These colorful imaginative puzzles will make your child feel a part of their favorite story. We offer chunky puzzles for toddlers, peg puzzles for preschoolers, and jigsaw puzzles from 12 to 500 pieces for older children and adults. Help children develop their recognition and motor skills and experience the unmatched feeling of accomplishment that comes from completing a puzzle.

The Educational Benefits of Puzzles

Puzzles offer a number of learning opportunities for children. They also help adults keep their minds strong and agile. Puzzles offer problem-solving and spatial development skills. Here are some of the ways that puzzles help us learn:

• Problem solving skills: Puzzles help us approach problems from a variety of angles. There are several common ways that people begin to solve puzzles, such as identifying and grouping colors, shapes, and images.
• Spatial learning: Puzzles and brainteasers often have a spatial, geographic nature. Pieces have to be oriented in a particular direction and joined together in the right ways to complete the puzzle.
• Social interaction: Although puzzles can be completed alone, it's a great way to spend time with friends or family. Puzzles give us a challenge that can be worked in a group, helping us develop the teamwork skills essential for school and work.
• Hand-eye coordination: Young children face a unique learning opportunity when working with puzzles - the chance to use their eyes and hands together to rotate the puzzle piece in the right direction and fit it into the desired location. This specific hand-eye coordination is essential to children's motor development.
• Shape recognition and vocabulary - Certain puzzles help children recognize standard shapes such as squares and circles; visual descriptions like straight, curved, and edge; and relational ideas such as above and beside.