DIY Fall-Themed Puzzles

Instead of investing in new puzzles all the time, you can actually just make your own for any theme you want.

To make these two-piece puzzles I printed the images on thick paper, cut them, then traced the outline on puzzle cardboard (the inside of cereal boxes work quite well too). After cutting the cardboard shapes I glued the two pieces together and used an X-acto knife to cut the images into two pieces.

In addition to being pretty simple to make, these puzzles can be adapted to any theme and you can also increase the difficulty for older children by cutting the picture into more pieces.

These puzzles are great for developing a number of skills, including:

🍂 Fine motor

🍂 Hand-eye coordination

🍂 Problem solving

🍂 Concentration

🍂 Spatial awareness

🍂 Language development (fall vocabulary)

🍂 Self-esteem

Cleaning up is part of the learning process, so make sure to encourage your child to tidy up after they finish playing. Model how to do it until your child feels confident enough to initiate the tidying up process independently.

Bringing play to life:

• How about building a puzzle using photos taken by the family or chosen by the child?
• If you are not a very crafty person, you can create your puzzle by printing the photo on photo paper instead. It is easy to cut into pieces using scissors, wipe clean and quite durable when compared to regular printer paper.