Baby's First Puzzle - a Cheap and Easy Homemade Puzzle

When you first have children, you rush right out and purchase any and every toy that you think your child will play with. Unfortunately, many of these toys will be too complicated and too old for your child for some time. One thing that is sometimes rushed is puzzles. You may feel that as soon as your baby can grasp an object that they need to start playing with puzzles. Puzzle play is very important, but rushing out to buy expensive wooden peg puzzles or cardboard puzzles for them to chew on is not necessary right away. You can make an easy and inexpensive "puzzle" for your young toddler that will teach them the basics of puzzles and introduce them to the concepts puzzles will reinforce.

Baby's First Puzzle

Items Needed

Muffin pan - choose one with 6 holes and that is regular sized. Do not get a mini or jumbo sized pan.

7 tennis balls - you can use all one color or get different colored balls

How to Play

Place the muffin tin in front of your toddler and allow them to explore the tin and see the holes. Then, place a tennis ball in one of the muffin holes. Let your child see you place one ball in each hole. Keep the seventh ball back for now. Once all of the balls are in place, dump them out. Then, help your child to place the balls again. They will place the balls and dump them out again and again. This is fascinating to them. Once they have done this several times, you can introduce the seventh ball.

Many children will be stumped by the fact that they have an extra ball. They will remove and replace balls trying to find spots for all of them. This is a way to teach matching. If your child gets too frustrated, remove the seventh ball.

If you have different colored balls, you can take this a step farther. Place a colored sticker in the bottom of each muffin hole. Put the matching colored balls into the correct holes. Show your child the matching colors and let them try to match them.

This very simple puzzle can keep babies and toddlers occupied and fascinated for some time. It helps to teach your child to control the muscles in their hands, to solve simple problems, to match or pair objects and to see how parts fit into each other. This beginners puzzle is the stepping stone to more complex puzzles and problem solving skills.