Puzzles

All the Ways to Play:

  1. Melissa & Doug Barnyard Animal Jumbo Knob Puzzle:

    Perfect first puzzle! Model taking the puzzle piece out by grasping the large knob with whole hand and slamming the piece on the floor to make a ‘bang’ sound. You can label the motion with “off”. Baby will want to imitate you to try and make the same ‘bang’ sound with the puzzle piece.
    Functional Language: off, in, bang, horse, neigh, cow, moo, sheep, baa

  2. Wooden Montessori Shape Puzzles:

    Model tapping wooden puzzle pieces on puzzle board or floor while using pincer grasp - PAUSE and wait for baby to imitate you.
    Functional Language: tap, bang, out, in, on, off

  3. Silicone Shape Sorter Puzzle:

    Silicone shapes are perfect for mouthing and chewing as baby is exploring through their mouth. Start by holding silicone shapes out in front of baby one at a time, then move to baby picking up pieces off of the floor.
    Functional Language: car, vroom, beep, places

  4. Melissa & Doug Touch & Feel Puzzle:

    Model petting the soft parts of the puzzle pieces, PAUSE, and wait for baby to imitate you. Then help baby slide puzzle piece into appropriate spot.
    Functional Language: soft, cat, dog, bunny, bird, animal sounds, push

  5. Pincer Grasp & Egg Cup Puzzles:

    Pull long cylinder puzzle out 75% of the way, then say “Ready…set…drop!,” and release it back into cube to make a bang. Hand to baby and wait for them to imitate you. Similarly, hold wooden egg in hand and model dropping it into the small cup, then pass to baby.
    Functional Language: “Ready, set, drop”

  6. Melissa & Doug Instrument Sound Puzzle:

    Take one puzzle piece off saying “my turn,” then wait and listen to the musical sound. Pass baby the puzzle saying, “your turn,” PAUSE, and wait for baby to pull their piece off.
    Functional Language: my turn, your turn, off, music

  7. BigJigs Transportation Knob Puzzle:

    Model taking pieces off of the puzzle board, then pretend to make them fly in the air or move on the ground. Place piece back on puzzle, PAUSE, then wait for baby to grab the piece and imitate you (it’s okay if they don’t imitate the movements exactly)!
    Functional Language: vroom, beep, choo choo, boat, train, tractor, in, out, on, off

  8. Magnetic Wooden Knob Puzzle:

    Magnets in puzzle board are great to increase confidence! Take one puzzle piece out, model putting it back into puzzle board, take it out again and set it in front of baby. Pause and wait for them to try and put it in the puzzle themselves.
    Functional Language: my turn, your turn, in, out

  9. BigJigs Pets Knob Puzzle:

    Hold up each animal puzzle piece by your face, label the animal, and model the animal’s sound. Then lay puzzle piece flat on hand and extend to baby, PAUSE, and wait for them to reach out and grab the puzzle piece. When baby grabs puzzle piece, repeat the animal name and sound!
    Functional Language: cat, meow, dog, ruff, duck, quack, bunny, hop, in, out

  10. Wooden Knob Shape Puzzles:

    Fill puzzle with different photos of family members. Say “Where’s mama/dada?,” then PAUSE and wait for baby to remove puzzle piece to reveal the photo. 
    Functional Language: “Where’s …?”, mama, dada, baby, on, off

  11. Chunky Wooden Shapes Puzzle:

    Engage with chunky puzzle pieces by stacking them to make a small tower. Model “one, two, three…crash!,” and encourage baby to knock tower over. Then repeat with baby helping you stack the shape pieces.
    Functional Language: stack, up, 1…2…3.. crash!

  12. Melissa & Doug Farm Sound Puzzle:

    Model taking puzzle pieces off of puzzle board with pincer grasp. Listen to the animal sounds the puzzle makes, then model the sound - PAUSE - and wait for baby to try.
    Functional Language: animal names, animal sounds, on, off

How to Set the Play Scene:

You have puzzles, but how do you play with them in an age-appropriate way? Our Ways to Play Guides can help with that!

All the Ways to Play:

  1. Melissa & Doug Nursery Rhyme Puzzle:

    Help baby match the pictures to complete the puzzle. Use simple words like “I see tree”, “I see clock”, “I see water”, etc. when describing puzzle pieces. Don’t forget to pause and enjoy singing the nursery rhymes together!
    Functional Language: I see… clock, water, tree, farmer, kids, rain, off, on, more

  2. Melissa & Doug Wooden Pattern Blocks:

    Help your little one fit shapes into puzzle by pointing to where the pieces go. After pointing, PAUSE! Wait to see if your little one slides the piece into the spot to complete the picture.
    Functional Language: in, out, fish, truck, shape names

  3. Melissa & Doug 4-Piece Jigsaw Puzzles:

    Lay out puzzle pieces and help your little one “find all the red pieces” in order to assemble the firetruck. After they find all the pieces, help them problem solve how to fit them together by talking about what’s on each piece and how they might fit together.
    Functional Language: “Let’s make ___”, “Find the __ pieces”

  4. Montessori Circles Puzzle:

    Take one circle out of the puzzle and hand it to baby. Help them use their hand to slide the circle around the puzzle board until they fit it into its appropriate spot.
    Functional Language: circle, slide, more, help, big, small

  5. Montessori Shape Peg Puzzle:

    Hand your little one shape pieces one at a time and help them complete the puzzle. Talk about the color and name of each shape as you hand them the piece. Have them request “more please” before handing them the next puzzle piece.
    Functional Language: “More, please,” shapes, colors

  6. Melissa & Doug Transportation Knob Puzzle:

    Practice your motor sounds with this fun vehicles puzzle. Make and model different sounds for each of the vehicles. Give simple directions like “Can you find the bus?” and see if they can find the bus and give it to you.
    Functional Language: vehicle names, motor sounds, “Can you find the…”

  7. Dinosaur & Egg Puzzle:

    Hide and discover baby dinosaurs by putting the puzzle together and back apart. Help baby twist oval eggs to fit them into their spot when hiding the dinosaurs.
    Functional Language: dinosaur, “Where is the dinosaur?”, “Dinosaur, where are you?”, on, off

  8. Melissa & Doug House Sound Puzzle:

    Talk about what you see throughout the house. Say, “I wonder where the car is?” Use phrases like “no car” or “I see the car” as they are removing puzzle pieces to find the car.
    Functional Language: household items, “I see…”

  9. Heads & Tails 2-Piece Puzzles:

    Perfect introduction to jigsaw puzzles for your 2.5 year old! Work on using two hands to slide puzzle pieces together to complete the animal. 
    Functional Language: match, animal names, together, apart

  10. Melissa & Doug Magnetic Fishing Puzzle:

    Complete the puzzle, then practice taking turns as you fish out the different puzzle pieces. Model using motor control by hovering the fishing pole over a fish to get it off of the puzzle board.
    Functional Language: “Catch the fish,” my turn, your turn

  11. Alphabet Puzzle:

    Practice singing the ABC’s as you engage with this puzzle. To start, hand pieces in alphabetical order and help your little one find the spot for the piece by pointing to the letter on the puzzle board.
    Functional Language: ABC’s, colors

  12. Wooden Cutting Puzzle:

    Practice cutting with this interactive puzzle. Great for matching as your little one matches the food pieces together. Let them explore knife cutting skills safely as they problem solve how to cut food pieces in half again.
    Functional Language: cut, knife, food, together

How to Set the Play Scene:

You have puzzles, but how do you play with them in an age-appropriate way? Our Ways to Play Guides can help with that!

If your little one loves puzzles, be sure to check out our duplo/mega bloks, blocks, & Montessori pages, too!

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