The training should start with something very simple such as the following items. Please do not underestimate the effect of these. We started these when our children were about 1 year old. I think these games help the children pick up motor skills and get a sense of orientation and pattern recognition. It will take some time for them to be able to grab the piece. The bottom game in the picture is very unique and interesting where it lets the children change the clothing of the bear.
After the above training, we started with simple 4-piece or 6-piece jigsaw puzzles like the following. I bought this in Walmart with hardly a few dollars each. Also, note that the puzzle has a base to hold the pieces which makes it easeir to solve. I remember that I gave a lot of praises to the children so that they become confident.
My children love playing the jigsaw, may be partly because of the praises and encouragement. Practice is critical because "Practice makes perfect". When they are ready, we slowly increased to 10pcs, 25pc, 60pc, 100pcs and eventually 200pcs. Look at the following pictures of my daughter completing a 10-piece jigsaw puzzle. Notice that the character is "Thomas the tank engine", her favorite character. Look at her happy face!
Sometimes, I think we have to spend a little bit more money to purchase those jigsaw puzzles with characters that our children like, such as Thomas, Dora, Pooh etc. Yes, a jigsaw puzzle with Thomas character may cost 30%-50% more, but it's worth the money because my son would play with it more often, 1 hour every time, and gave me the precious peace of mind to concentrate on what I wanted to do. I find that my children would not hang on long to those puzzle with the pattern that they do not like. So, the special character does play a role to give motivation.
I was so lucky to get a lot of Thomas puzzles sold at discounted prices, one of them can even glow in the dark. All these help to keep the interests going. Look at the photos of my son at work! He completed the 100 pieces puzzle in less than 30 minutes. If not mistaken, I paid less than RM50 for the set in the picture, definitely this is not cheap. But considering the time, the frequency used and his lovely happy face playing the Thomas puzzle, I would consider my money well spent.
Now, my son is helping me to motivate his sister to learn and play jigsaw puzzles.
And he is also helping his sister to clean up the toys after playing. I always insist that they clean up on their own even at a very young age. My son is doing fine in this aspect, but his sister tends to attempt to "escape" from her duty and relies on her brother's help.
One interesting observation is that my son sometimes uses different approach in dealing with Jigsaw compared to my wife and me. For those jigsaw puzzle with a "base", he could simply pick up one piece and he would know exactly where to place the piece by memory. I find it amazing because there are 24pcs together and I find it extremely hard to do so. I observed the same behavior on my daughter. Now, at the age of 2, she is playing 24pcs jigsaw using the same method. They never start with finding fringe pieces like what adults usually do.
What's the benefit of playing jigsaw puzzles? Well, I think it helps to develop motor skills. It's not easy for a 12-month toddler to hold the small piece and put it at the right orientation and at the right place. Also, playing jigsaw puzzles helps to develop skill of recognizing the pattern and colors. In addition, it helps to build up their concentration skills.
What matters most to me is that my children love playing jigsaw puzzles, and when they concentrate on the jigsaw puzzle game, I can really enjoy my own time, reading books or surfing net. I just need to sit beside. Don't you love that?
