In the spirit of the holiday season, when looking for a gift for a young child, teenager, or adult, consider the giving a jigsaw puzzle. Puzzles are one of many toys that allow opportunities for mathematical concepts to emerge during play. Some of those opportunities include children seeing how a picture is composed of smaller pieces and then eventually decomposed from a complete picture back to smaller pieces.

In our shift to common core standards, a major emphasis is being placed on the standards of mathematical practice. Puzzle building presents a great way to teach perseverance as children progress to puzzles with 100 or more pieces that can take hours or days to complete (Math Practice 1). Puzzle building also requires children to make use of the structure of a puzzle (Math Practice 7). Does the piece contain a smooth edge? Does it have unique characteristics? What colors do you see on the piece? This leads to sorting and classifying pieces in a way that makes sense to the puzzle builder.

One important thing to consider is picking the right puzzle for the child. Consider the person’s interest, as it may be Batman or ponies that first gets a child to buy-in to building their first puzzle. Also consider the child’s ability and experience with puzzles. The quickest way to turn off puzzle building interest in a child is to give them a puzzle that is way beyond their ability. Consider starting easier if you are unsure. Sometimes, early success could promote future interest.

Puzzle away!