Executive function
A toddler observes a caregiver take apart and put together a puzzle.
Puzzle (see Be Prepared)
Be Prepared: Select a puzzle that you anticipate will be appropriately challenging and of interest to the toddler you invite to participate in this activity. In addition to the toddler’s interests, considerations include: (1) the number of pieces; (2) ease of picking up the pieces, including size or “chunkiness” and whether each piece has a peg; (3) color contrasts; (4) whether there are pictures on the puzzle board under the puzzle pieces; and (5) whether the puzzle has some characteristics of a jigsaw puzzle, such as pieces that represent part (rather than all) of a pictured item. Some puzzle possibilities include: animal puzzles for toddlers that are part of the Dreampark wooden jigsaw puzzles; Melissa and Doug® first shapes jumbo knob puzzle; and Melissa and Doug® first play jigsaw puzzle set featuring vehicles. The activity description below uses the Melissa and Doug® Vehicles Wooden Peg Puzzle (8 pieces) for illustration purposes only.
[Invite a toddler to join you at a table to help you work with a puzzle. Put the assembled puzzle between you and the toddler.]
Look at this puzzle! It shows different things people can ride in.
Please help me figure out what is shown in our puzzle. Let’s look carefully at each puzzle piece when we take pieces out of the puzzle board. We can pay attention to what the puzzle piece looks like.
[Encourage the toddler to look at and name the vehicle on each puzzle piece. Point to each piece you discuss. Provide names of vehicles the toddler does not seem to know, such as the ambulance and helicopter. Talk briefly about when or how the vehicles are used. Demonstrate and describe how to feel the edge of the puzzle piece with your fingers. Invite the toddler to move his/her fingers on the outlines of the puzzle piece.
After the vehicle shown in a puzzle piece is identified and discussed, explain that we want to try to remember where a piece goes in the puzzle. Then invite the toddler to put the piece on the table above or near the puzzle board.
After all pieces have been removed, put each piece in the puzzle as you describe your thinking. Point to puzzle features you describe. Example: “This is the school bus. I remember the school bus was in this part of the puzzle. Look, here’s a picture of where the bus goes in the puzzle.”
Draw attention to how a piece fits in the puzzle board. Example: “This piece fit! The airplane piece fit in the space above the picture of an airplane.”]
You helped me take apart and put together a puzzle. We looked at each piece of the puzzle. We felt the edges of the puzzle. We put each piece of the puzzle where it fits. Look at all the vehicles in our puzzle!
Executive function
A toddler practices taking apart and putting together a puzzle with caregiver guidance.
Puzzle (see Be Prepared)
Be Prepared: Select a puzzle that you anticipate will be appropriately challenging and of interest to the toddler who will participate in this activity. See considerations in Option 1’s Be Prepared section. You may wish to use the puzzle offered in Option 1.
Invite a toddler to join you at a table to work on a puzzle. Place the assembled puzzle in front of the toddler. Sit across from or adjacent to the toddler. This indirectly lets the toddler know that he/she is in charge of the puzzle work, with you offering help if needed.
Invite the toddler to describe and then remove each puzzle piece. Encourage the toddler to look at each piece before putting the pieces on the table. Draw attention to the image or shape of a piece as appropriate. Encourage the toddler to feel the edge of the puzzle piece with his/her fingers. Remind the toddler that it helps to remember where a piece goes in the puzzle.
After all pieces are in a small group near the puzzle board, invite the toddler to put each piece in the puzzle board. Offer suggestions or comments if it appears the toddler is uncertain about where a piece should go. Use strategies promoted in Option 1 for putting pieces in the puzzle board. Emphasize whether or how a piece fits in the puzzle.
Conclude the activity by positively acknowledging the toddler’s efforts, especially looking closely at each piece and trying to remember where it fits.
Executive function
Two toddlers take turns taking apart and putting together a puzzle with caregiver guidance.
Puzzle (see Be Prepared)
Be Prepared: Select a puzzle that you anticipate will be appropriately challenging and of interest to the two toddlers who will participate in this activity. See considerations in Option 1’s Be Prepared section.
Invite two toddlers to sit next to each other at a table with a completed puzzle in front of them. Encourage the toddlers to take turns pointing to and describing a piece in the puzzle and then removing it from the puzzle. Invite each toddler to feel the edge of the piece he/she removes. Remind the toddlers that it helps to remember where a piece fits in the puzzle. Encourage the toddlers to put the puzzle pieces in one group on the table, not one group per toddler.
Invite the toddlers to take turns as they select one puzzle piece from the group of pieces on the table, describe the puzzle piece, and talk about where the piece fits in the puzzle board. Conclude the activity by asking toddlers how they knew where a piece fits on the puzzle. Positively acknowledge each toddler’s efforts to look closely at each piece and remember where a piece fits.
The current activity emphasizes the self-regulation aspects of puzzle work first offered in Block 6. The amount of challenge offered to a toddler(s) in the current activity plan depends on the selected puzzle, per considerations suggested in Be Prepared.
The three options gradually increase the challenge of puzzle work by beginning with guided participation (Option 1) and moving to options with higher levels of independent work with the puzzle pieces (Options 2 and 3). Option 3 also offers the challenge of taking turns with a peer. As noted in Block 6, it can be challenging for some toddlers to wait and/or to avoid telling another child what to do with a puzzle piece. Be prepared to offer gentle reminders about turns and how we wait patiently while another child takes his/her turn.
A toddler may try to rush through the puzzle work. Encourage a slower approach, so the toddler can look at each piece, and remind the toddler that we are not interested in how fast a puzzle can be done. It may be helpful for a toddler to take two deep breaths between each piece.
Extra support
Enrichment
Materials Needed: 2–3 puzzles of different challenge levels
Use the considerations offered in Option 1’s Be Prepared section to select several puzzles that differ in level of challenge and also represent interests of some toddlers in your room. Invite toddlers to work with a puzzle independently. Stay nearby, when possible, to provide comments and assistance if needed.
Materials Needed: large floor puzzle
In addition to offering Options 1–3 for toddlers, provide a large floor puzzle for toddlers and older children to work on together. Toddlers will enjoy watching older children work on more challenging pieces, and older children may enjoy assisting younger toddlers to complete parts of the puzzle.
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