Puzzle

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Sue recommended Ern's 1st puzzle set in Nov 07 after she told me her girl was able to match her shoes before turned 1. I was so amazed to hear that and i gave it a try.

1st Puzzle - Nov 07


Sue gave me a guide how to make the puzzle playing session more interesting. It was indeed very helpful. It took Ern around 4 weeks to bring us the right piece together. Back then, she wasn't able to fit them nicely but I was quite pleased to see she brought me the right piece.

2nd set - Jan 08


It was from this 2 sets that I discovered Ern likes puzzle. Ever since, no turning back for Ern to fall in love with puzzle, so as the mother to continue to buy puzzle for her! LOL

This time, it took Ern around ~3 weeks to match the right set for both puzzle set. I also used the puzzle to teach her about animal & their home namings like cat & basket, bee & hive, etc.

3rd set - Feb 08


I took a risk when I purchase this Opposite puzzle as it was meant for 3 years and above. However, I thought I should give it a try and if Ern is not ready, i can still keep it till she is ready. To my surprise, she was able to match some of those simple ones like Up & Down, In & Out at 19months. It took her around month or so to master the difficult one like "Full & Empty", "Light & Heavy".

She started to match all the 16 sets but I have to split them up like 3-4 times, like each time, I can only put 4 sets for her to choose. Anything more than that, she get distracted and unable to concentrate. Slowly, I increased from 4 set to 8 sets and eventually, i threw her all 32 pieces for her to choose.

Matching Set - July 2008


I introduced all the 20 pairs to Ern by using the 'flash card' method, ie to show and tell her what they are and why they have to go together. It was like story telling :-) I repeated twice for all the 20 pairs. Then I started to take out like 8 pairs (easy one) for her to match. Easy one means those objects that she is familiar with from our daily routine or from her books. She was able to get me right on the spot. Then I introduced the remaining according to their difficulty like needle and thread, glove & scarf which she has never seen before.

I was so pleased and proud actually. Ern was able to take the correct pair and show it to me,all of them after just the 2 times of flashing.

4-6 pieces of Puzzle - July 2008



I got this 4-6 pieces puzzle set from one the local book stores during sales. I think it cost me like RM5. Right now, Ern is able to complete the Ship set (4 pieces) within 3 days and now working on the Aeroplane (which is 5 pieces).

Before & After Puzzle


At the same time, I also started on this puzzle set, to teach Ern about 'cause and effect' in our daily life. I used the same ' 2 times flashing' method and she was able to bring me 3-4 sets right immediately.

What's the moral of the story here? Never underestimate your child's learning ability. Also, you don't necessary need to follow the age guide on the toy/book that you buy. It is just a GUIDE :-)