Play Ideas With Toddler Peg Puzzles
Lately, the best toddler peg puzzles are wood puzzles! They’re easy to pick up, easy to play with, and easy to fall in love with. Toddler peg puzzles work on a variety of key skills that are not only fun to learn but beneficial for your child’s development! We hope to inspire your creativity and help guide you in your puzzle exploration! Keep reading to learn some new peg puzzle activities for toddlers!
Here are 8 ways to play with toddler peg puzzles:
1. Talk about the pieces in your toddler peg puzzle
An easy way to engage your child and work on several skills with your toddler is to simply discuss the pieces in front of you! Ask them to make the noise your animal puzzle piece makes in real life. Have your little one tell you what their favorite puzzle piece is and why. Tell them what your favorite piece is and why.
Use your toddler’s knowledge of these puzzle pieces as a way to build up conversation! Has your toddler seen any of these puzzle pieces in real life? Talk about it! Does your toddler remember how to put the puzzle piece in its spot? Work on it!
2. Explain the basics
Now that your toddler understands the pieces in front of them, explain how to finish the toddler peg puzzle! You may ask yourself, “How do I teach my toddler to play with a puzzle?”. First, show them how to put the pieces in their slots. Kids love to mimic the actions they see around them. Show them what happens when you try to put a piece in the wrong spot and how you should try again when this happens! After watching you, your child will try to recreate what they just saw.
3. Arrange by size
Now that you’ve talked about the basics, have your child work on their comparison skills and arrange the pieces by size. Understanding size and recognizing differences are signs your child is growing up and becoming more aware of the world around them.
Try having them arrange the pieces in toddler peg puzzles from smallest to biggest and then biggest to smallest. For a fun challenge, try making patterns with the different sizes. For example, do a pattern of small, big, small, big. Take it a step further and do a pattern such as, small, small, big, small. Talk about what a pattern is and how to identify it with your toddler.
4. Arrange by color
Learning colors is an awesome and easy way to play with your toddler peg puzzles! Talk about the primary colors of red, blue, and yellow. Does your toddler see any of those colors in front of them? Talk about the secondary colors of green, orange, and purple. Does your toddler see any of those colors in front of them?
Ask your toddler what their favorite color is! Ask them why that is and what color is their least favorite.
Like our suggestion about arranging by size, use colors as a way to talk about patterns in your puzzle pieces! Does a piece have a pattern already in it? Try making patterns with the colors in front of you!
5. Arrange by similarities
Now that you’ve arranged by size and color, take it a step further and have your child find similarities between the pieces of your toddler peg puzzles. If you have an animal puzzle, talk about the various animals and what they have in common. Do some live on a farm? Do some live in the jungle? Does this animal have wings or arms?
If your toddler peg puzzle is focused more on shapes and colors, help your toddler identify similarities between two shapes like a square and a rectangle piece. Does the blue circle look like the green oval? Does the “O” letter look like the “Q”?
If you have time, also talk about the differences your toddler sees!
6. Make Mistakes!
Making mistakes is a part of growing up. It happens! While putting your puzzle pieces in their slots, try to place the piece in the wrong hole. This may sound weird, but in doing this you can talk to your child about why mistakes are okay and how you should try again!
Also, take this moment to ask your child why the piece doesn’t work in this spot. Is this piece too big? Is this piece too small? Use this as a chance to further work on comparisons.
7. Talk about the environment
A great thing about wood toddler peg puzzles is how great they are for the world around you! Wood puzzles are long lasting and a great replacement for plastic toys. Take this opportunity to discuss ways to save the earth such as recycling, having less instead of more, and saving resources such as energy!
Need some ideas for how to help the earth? Look no further! Here are a few suggestions:
- Turn lights off when you’re not in the room
- Shop at yard sales and thrift stores instead of buying brand new
- Take a walk or bike ride instead of driving
- Make compost!
8. Use your imagination
Now that we’ve covered some of the more classic ways of playing with your toddler peg puzzles, step out of your box and use your imagination! Give your pieces names and make stories with them. Bring in toys from around your toy room and have them talk to each other. Build a castle with your puzzle pieces! If your child has a new idea, try it! It’s okay to use your puzzle in a way you never have before. Embrace the weird and get creative!
We hope you are excited and ready to play with your toddler peg puzzles after reading our suggestions! Making your child’s play a priority is really all that matters, so don’t worry about playing the “right” way. Instead, have fun with your toddler and enjoy this precious time! Consider our suggestions as more of a guide rather than a requirement. Toddler peg puzzles are truly just one of the many great ways to play!
Still wanting more ideas about puzzles? Check out our other puzzle blog posts:
- 10 Ways to Pick the Best Wood Puzzles for Toddlers
- 7 Ways to Play with the Best Alphabet Puzzles for Toddlers
- How to Use Puzzles for Toddler Development
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