The Magic of Puzzles

Puzzle 001
Originally uploaded by Hoover Family Photos.

My son, 3 and a half, loves puzzles. I'm not talking those chubby-handled baby puzzles, but the 100-piece floor puzzles with lots of bright colors. In his case, the puzzle also has to have as many animals as the manufacturers could fit in a, let's say, 3X3 feet puzzle. Brandon loves animals. Any kind, any habitat, as long as it's an animal. I got him a 100-piece giant floor puzzle from Melissa & Doug for Christmas. As he just turned three a few months earlier, Dad and Grandma were both skeptical that he would take to it. Well, he did, in a big way.

Brandon doesn't just like actual puzzle completing. He enjoys the camaraderie that it brings. Spending quality time with Mama or Daddy turning around pieces, seeing if they fit. He revels in seeing how the colors could be grouped together and patterns form to complete an area. He feels a sense of satisfaction in finding a piece that fits. After we're done, he's proud of a job well done, and he gets to see all the animals that make up the puzzle. Sometimes he learns about new animals in the process.

When we complete the puzzle his job is not done. By himself now, he'll sit for hours and dismantle the puzzle and start all over again. He keeps and eye out for the patterns, colors and animals he sees as he turns the pieces around to fit.

I watch him in fascination, delighted that my intuitive idea of buying him a giant puzzle of his favorite subject worked out in more ways than I'd imagined. Brandon doesn't know that puzzles improve his small motor skills, hand-eye coordination, pattern recognition, lays down frameworks for reading skills and grows his cognitive skills. He doesn't know either that they teach him the value of working towards a goal. To him it's just fun.

Is your child not interested in puzzles? Don't fret. I can tell you that I'm especially happy with my son's interest in puzzles because I was never interested in them as a child. The key when trying to encourage an interest is to find something the child finds irresistible. In Brandon's case it's animals. In your child's case it could be cars, princesses, castles, dragons, a character, etc. etc. There are always puzzles that will hold the child's interest. Further, if she's not ready now, she may find it great fun in a couple of months. Children grow and change all the time. Sometimes the toy they passed over just weeks ago will now be their favorite. Just put it away and take it out again in a month or two. You may be surprised. It also helps to first introduce your child to it by playing with him. They love playing and interacting with their favorite people in the whole world. What better way to build relationships and enhance quality time by finishing a puzzle together? You may be surprised to find yourself enjoying yourself and be challenged as well. I know I was.

It's time of year again for many homeschoolers who start in September. Burn-out kicks in around mid-March. You start wondering, why did I start homeschooling in the first place? Am I ruining my kids? Manu such doubts enter the stratosphere of your thinking and the horizon, the end of the year, seems cloudy. Some ideas to get a kick in the pants:

- Slow down your routine
- Spend more time outdoors (whether it's reading or math on the grass, it will do your children good)
- Take a field trip or two
- Read why other homeschoolers homeschool (check out blogs such as this) and be reminded of your goals and values in the first place. Next year you can be proactive and write out in September or October why you're homeschooling and a letter to yourself that you know it's going to get tough, but it's important to you to stick to it. Read the letter when burn-out strikes.
- Schedule a family vacation. The children will learn through your travels anyway.
- Make sure the essentials are covered, such as reading, writing and math, and take it easy on the rest
- Schedule a visit with a local specialist, be it a dentist, craftsman, florist, jeweler, construction worker, farmer or artist and learn about what kind of work they do


Good luck getting through the slump! For those of you who are not homeschooling with the traditional school year, like me, it may hit you at a different time. Since we're homeschooling from January to November (with breaks in between), burnout will likely hit us in early Summer.. June or so. Perfect time to hit the beach, pool or take a vacation in a slightly cooler place (yes, you read that right.. cooler. We live in South Florida, and it gets very hot and humid here in the Summer!).

So take it easy, one day at a time. Make sure you recharge your batteries so you can be extra fresh to teach your children.

Charlotte Mason called it atmosphere, Montessori stressed it was all-important in her system of education. Yes, the environment. So how do we structure our environment in the home to make it easy for children to learn? I've read many books on the subject. It can seem daunting and time-consuming when you first hear about creating an environment. How do I do it? What if I don't have any room? Is it too expensive? Fortunately every one of these issues, with the exception of the second question in extreme cases, can be easily resolved.

The key is, as the book Playful Learning and many more point out, is to accentuate what you already have in the home. The truth is, a preschool or kindergarten recreates the home. There is a food prep station, a section for toys, a dress-up area, a computer area, shelves with books, etc. Getting the picture?

I can tell you what has worked well for us. We have learning area all throughout the house, as in any home, but we put emphasis on each of them and really created a library and art area in one of our rooms. We set up some bookshelves with Brandon's collection of books within his reach and some educational toys on top. This way he can interact with the material whenever he wishes to (a Montessori idea). We also put up an ABC chart. He loves to look at them and point them each out. He also has an art table (a gift from grandparents) where he can draw, color and fingerpaint to his heart's content. We have rows and rows of books of our own to inspire him and to convey to him in a natural way that we value knowledge in this house.

Our closet is his dress-up room. He helps us cook in the kitchen. His specialty is pizza and muffins. I try to play soothing classical music a few times a week. He dances in the living room, which is cleared up for dancing space, and we have the computer to serve as an educational tool. His room is also the toy room.

As you see, it's easy to create an environment where learning can take place easily.