Hobbies And Interests
Online Jigsaw Puzzles
For kids who enjoy jigsaw puzzles, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has a page of online jigsaw puzzles in four different skill levels. The high-quality pictures show different FEMA topics, such as a volcanic eruption and a crumbled building. (There are no pictures of injured people in these puzzles.) Players move pieces by dragging and dropping, and can rotate them by right-clicking the mouse. When pieces are together correctly, they fuse, after which the player can moved them as a unit. This game runs best using Internet Explorer, and may not work well with other browsers.
Very young players can feel like the big kids as they assemble the easy, six-piece puzzles. More experienced players can go for the 24- or 96-piece puzzles, and for those who think they can handle it, there is a 150-piece puzzle.
FBI Puzzlers
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has web pages for kids which include a number of different activities. FBI Dogs is a slider puzzle which challenges kids to slide the pieces around inside a frame until they form a complete picture. This is a good game for younger players, as it only requires a mouse click in order to slide a piece from its current position to the open spot.
The FBI Puzzle Page also includes a “Most Wanted” word search puzzle. This game challenges kids to find FBI-related words hidden in a page of jumbled text. Kids can play the game over and over by clicking the “New Game” button. The puzzle will be scrambled again, using the same words in new locations. If a player gets stuck all she needs to do is click “Solve Game” to see the solution.
Tabletop Jigsaw Puzzles
Scholastic points out that jigsaw puzzles help kids develop math skills. Assembling these puzzles teaches children spatial orientation and the concept of geometry. Tabletop puzzles also help to develop fine motor skills.
Look for puzzles which have pictures of things that appeal to your child. Very young children do best with simple puzzles that include frames. At their most basic, these puzzles are made of wood or heavy cardboard and have a single shape, such as a ball or a puppy, which fits into s cutout on the board. The next step is to give your child jigsaw puzzles to play with which are progressively more challenging. Encourage your child by playing with him. Help him out if he gets stuck, and encourage and praise him when he is doing well. Let him help pick out new puzzles to maintain his enthusiasm for them.