After a very hot day outside yesterday, I thought we would spend some time inside tidying up (and we are expecting a storm later) so it is a good day to be inside. Our puzzles are always a mess. Somehow we lose puzzle pieces left and right. They are kinda like socks–they just walk away! So when trying to sort through the puzzles, I came across this farm one and of course some of the pieces were missing.
I searched, my kids searched and we couldn’t find them. So I was left with this puzzle with missing pieces and that is when it gave me an idea to do something else with the frame of the puzzle. Feed the animals! Although I wished it was fall and I had some corn pieces laying around I thought the animals might enjoy eating the beans
In doing this activity my kids were really strengthening their fine motor skills by pinching the clothes pin to pick up the beans (or you could use tweezers) Instead of a puzzle frame you could use any small shape to fit things into such as a cookie cutter. My goal was that they fill up their bellies or their entire bodies with beans–this also works on spatial relationships and how to fit objects into a defined place and/or organize them.
This skill is important in their development so that they can visualize how to organize things later in life (i.e packing a suitcase — placing items in certain places so everything can fit). Important life skills here!
