More Jigsaw Puzzles

We have been on a jigsaw puzzle spree over the past several weeks. The latest entrant is Aseem who is showing a surprising talent at this. Manisha bought him a 5-pack of 25-piece puzzles (like the one in the picture) and he has zipped through them.

Supriya is very good at this also. We got quite a few puzzles through Freecycle, and she has done the 60- and 100-piece ones. Now we are all getting ambitious. Here's the one we got started on yesterday. First of all it has 500 pieces, which is the biggest I have ever done. Secondly the shape is oval. It took us quite a while just to assemble the frame. Manisha is the most avid puzzler among us, and she is orchestrating the strategy -- first the frame, then gather like pieces to make assemblies, and finally the whole puzzle.

I can see for myself how doing these puzzles can build your visual & perceptual skills. I can see myself getting better, and I am sure the kids' brains are just soaking it all up! I am also really impressed by the attention span that is getting devoted to these. An overactive 6 1/2 year old spending 35 minutes in one place & at 9:45 pm?! I guess this is how genuine talent reveals itself.

In any case, I'd love to read about how doing jigsaw puzzles helps brain development. Send me any info you might have...