Did you know that January 29th is National Puzzle Day?  I love puzzles!  I snapped the picture above on New Year’s Day, at the start of our 1000-piece challenge.  Puzzles give your brain a fantastic workout- making them extremely beneficial (for both kids and adults) and SO satisfying to complete!

Cognitive Skills:  When kids work on a puzzle, they practice identifying colors, letters, and develop spatial awareness.  Puzzles also encourage kids to work on their memory.

Hand-Eye Coordination:  Getting the pieces to fit just right requires this valuable skill!

Fine Motor Development:  Picking up and placing puzzle pieces benefits fine motor development immensely.  The smaller the pieces get, the greater the challenge!

Problem Solving:  You have one goal in sight when doing a puzzle.  This requires children to think logically and come up with a plan to complete the task!

Social Skills:  Working in a group to complete a puzzle encourages kids to practice sharing, taking turns, and working in a team to achieve a common goal.

In honor of today’s holiday, I put together a list of some of my favorite puzzles for toddlers, big kids, and adults.  The toddler puzzles by Melissa & Doug have withstood years of play in our playspace and music studio’s lobby- I highly recommend them.  As kids get older, increase the number of pieces and decrease the piece size to keep up the brain-boosting power of puzzles!

Puzzles for Toddlers to Big Kids

1.  My First Puzzle Set: Shapes by The Learning Journey (2, 4, 6, 8 piece | ages 2+) view on Amazon
2.  Chunky Wooden Puzzle: Construction by Melissa & Doug  (6 piece | 2+) view on Amazon
3.  Chunky Wooden Puzzle:  Dinosaurs by Melissa & Doug (7 piece | 2+) view on Amazon
4.  Chunky Wooden Puzzle: Alphabet by Melissa & Doug (26 piece| 3+) view on Amazon
5.  Chunky Wooden Puzzle: Safari by Melissa & Doug (8 piece | 2+) view on Amazon
6. Chunky Wooden Puzzle: Numbers by Melissa & Doug (20 piece | 3+) view on Amazon
7.  Endangered Animals Floor Puzzle by T.S. Shure (24 pieces | 3+) view on Amazon
8.  USA Map Floor Puzzle by Melissa & Doug (51 piece | 6+) view on Amazon
9. Building a House Puzzle by Ravensburger (100 piece | 6+) view on Amazon
10. Railway Station Puzzle by Ravensburger (60 piece | 4+) view on Amazon
 

Puzzles for Big Kids to Adults

1.  Candy Lane Puzzle by White Mountain Puzzles (500 piece | 12+) view on Amazon
2.  Flags of the World Puzzle by White Mountain Puzzles (1000 piece | 12+) view on Amazon
3.  Hollywood Puzzle by White Mountain Puzzles (1000 piece | 12+) view on Amazon
4.  The 1980s Puzzle by White Mountain Puzzles (1000 piece | 12+) view on Amazon
5. Rock ‘n’ Roll Puzzle by White Mountain Puzzles (1000 piece | 12+) view on Amazon
6. Empire State Building 3D Puzzle by Ravensburger (216 piece | 10+) view on Amazon
7. Van Gogh, Café Terrace at Night Puzzle by Ravensburger (1500 piece | 12+) view on Amazon