hisforhomeschooling Posted March 13, 2016 Posted March 13, 2016 My son is 2.5 and he is doing 100 piece puzzles. I am NOT a mathy person at all, so I am wondering what people with experience would suggest, besides puzzles, to continue to engage this part of his brain. Besides the fact that he will work at a 100 piece puzzle until it's done, he also surprised us by completing a 12 piece puzzle upside-down at a restaurant the other day. It was the only size I was willing to bring and possibly lose pieces from. He looked at it, and I guess he decided it was too easy, because he turned all the pieces over, and put it together in just a few minutes. Partly, when he has done a puzzle more than once, I think he memorizes it. All 3 of my boys have fantastic memories. But I think there is more to it then that since he is doing larger puzzles as well. I am very concerned that my boys are going to be beyond my abilities in math much sooner than anticipated! Thanks for your thoughts! Quote
historically accurate Posted March 13, 2016 Posted March 13, 2016 My son is 2.5 and he is doing 100 piece puzzles. I am NOT a mathy person at all, so I am wondering what people with experience would suggest, besides puzzles, to continue to engage this part of his brain. Besides the fact that he will work at a 100 piece puzzle until it's done, he also surprised us by completing a 12 piece puzzle upside-down at a restaurant the other day. It was the only size I was willing to bring and possibly lose pieces from. He looked at it, and I guess he decided it was too easy, because he turned all the pieces over, and put it together in just a few minutes. Partly, when he has done a puzzle more than once, I think he memorizes it. All 3 of my boys have fantastic memories. But I think there is more to it then that since he is doing larger puzzles as well. I am very concerned that my boys are going to be beyond my abilities in math much sooner than anticipated! Thanks for your thoughts! I had a daughter who did her puzzles upside down when she was that age. She liked tangrams and pattern blocks a lot. You have to fill in the space with the pieces so they don't lock together, but it is still a puzzle (and you don't have to keep track of 100+ pieces). Quote
chocolate-chip chooky Posted March 13, 2016 Posted March 13, 2016 This recent thread has some great ideas related to puzzles, logic games, spatial awareness, construction sets etc: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/588207-gifted-special-whatever-how-to-progress-from-here/ Quote
historically accurate Posted March 13, 2016 Posted March 13, 2016 This recent thread has some great ideas related to puzzles, logic games, spatial awareness, construction sets etc: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/588207-gifted-special-whatever-how-to-progress-from-here/ Lots of great ideas here! Quote
Dmmetler Posted March 13, 2016 Posted March 13, 2016 My DD loved map puzzles at that age. I found ones for most of the continents, broken down by country, plus ones for Australian states and Canadian Provinces after she'd worn out the US map one. 1 Quote
Jackie Posted March 13, 2016 Posted March 13, 2016 GeoPuzzles might work well. Also, Mighty Mind and Super Mind worked well for us. There's a few extension packs if he likes them. I highly recommend getting the magnetic version for small hands. Quote
TerriM Posted March 13, 2016 Posted March 13, 2016 More puzzles with more pieces. Legos. When he gets older, puzzle books (sudoku, word search, etc.) I like to bring these out to eat, but they do require some space to flip open, and only have 48 pieces: http://www.amazon.com/Animals-World-Jigsaw-Book-Books/dp/1865036013/ http://www.amazon.com/Ocean-Creatures-Jigsaw-Book-Krutop/dp/1865039233 Quote
ThursdayNext Posted March 14, 2016 Posted March 14, 2016 My son who loved puzzles at that age had great visual memory. It really helped him learn to read quickly, as he memorized the shape of the different letters, and short words, very easily. Throw in some alphabet games and see what happens. Quote
Mike in SA Posted March 14, 2016 Posted March 14, 2016 Mechanically inclined... Legos, particularly Bionicle (or the current name for the robot characters). He'll start way ahead of the recommended age. Quote
hisforhomeschooling Posted March 15, 2016 Author Posted March 15, 2016 I had a daughter who did her puzzles upside down when she was that age. She liked tangrams and pattern blocks a lot. You have to fill in the space with the pieces so they don't lock together, but it is still a puzzle (and you don't have to keep track of 100+ pieces). Thanks! I am putting tangrams on our list. We do have puzzle blocks and he enjoys them! Any idea where to find ones more challenging than a duck or a boat? He does them so fast. Plain old tangrams or tangoes? This recent thread has some great ideas related to puzzles, logic games, spatial awareness, construction sets etc: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/588207-gifted-special-whatever-how-to-progress-from-here/ Thank you! That is a fabulous thread! A lot of the ideas are for older kids, but it gives me a starting point! I might post there and ask what they did with their kids when they were younger. Lots of great ideas here! My DD loved map puzzles at that age. I found ones for most of the continents, broken down by country, plus ones for Australian states and Canadian Provinces after she'd worn out the US map one. That's a great idea! We do have a couple map ones that I had forgotten about. Even though they are fewer pieces, they are more challenging because of the shapes. Thanks! GeoPuzzles might work well. Also, Mighty Mind and Super Mind worked well for us. There's a few extension packs if he likes them. I highly recommend getting the magnetic version for small hands. What is the difference between the Mighty Mind/Super Mind sets and tangrams and pattern blocks? Or are they variations of the same thing? Thanks for the ideas! More puzzles with more pieces. Legos. When he gets older, puzzle books (sudoku, word search, etc.) I like to bring these out to eat, but they do require some space to flip open, and only have 48 pieces: http://www.amazon.com/Animals-World-Jigsaw-Book-Books/dp/1865036013/ http://www.amazon.com/Ocean-Creatures-Jigsaw-Book-Krutop/dp/1865039233 It is hard to tell from the links. Are they puzzles in books? Thanks for the ideas! My son who loved puzzles at that age had great visual memory. It really helped him learn to read quickly, as he memorized the shape of the different letters, and short words, very easily. Throw in some alphabet games and see what happens. I am wondering if that is going to happen. He knows most of his letters, but has not memorized the alphabet song yet, which I find strange because my older 2 already knew it by this age, and I am just starting letter sounds with him. Thanks for the suggestion! Mechanically inclined... Legos, particularly Bionicle (or the current name for the robot characters). He'll start way ahead of the recommended age. Thanks! We love Legos here, but I don't know if we have any of the Bionicle sets. Maybe one. I am sure my husband would love an excuse to get new Legos :) Quote
Have kids -- will travel Posted March 15, 2016 Posted March 15, 2016 Mazes are another good option if he's got good fine motor. My three-year-old is obsessed with mazes. I really like the Kumon books and put the mazes in plastic covers for use with dry erase markers. He likes to do them over and over and over (particularly the ones with cars in them!). 1 Quote
hisforhomeschooling Posted March 15, 2016 Author Posted March 15, 2016 Mazes are another good option if he's got good fine motor. My three-year-old is obsessed with mazes. I really like the Kumon books and put the mazes in plastic covers for use with dry erase markers. He likes to do them over and over and over (particularly the ones with cars in them!). Another great idea! Thanks! Using dry erase sounds great! Quote
Jackie Posted March 15, 2016 Posted March 15, 2016 What is the difference between the Mighty Mind/Super Mind sets and tangrams and pattern blocks? Or are they variations of the same thing? Thanks for the ideas! Variations on the same basic idea. I never could find traditional tangram puzzles that got beyond a fairly basic level. Mighty Mind started very simple, but was pretty complex by the end of the set, and all of Super Mind is decently challenging. Quote
hisforhomeschooling Posted March 15, 2016 Author Posted March 15, 2016 Variations on the same basic idea. I never could find traditional tangram puzzles that got beyond a fairly basic level. Mighty Mind started very simple, but was pretty complex by the end of the set, and all of Super Mind is decently challenging. Thanks! So, it would be pattern blocks, tangrams, mighty mind, then super mind in order of increasing difficulty? Quote
Jackie Posted March 15, 2016 Posted March 15, 2016 Thanks! So, it would be pattern blocks, tangrams, mighty mind, then super mind in order of increasing difficulty? Mighty Mind/Super Mind are really an alternative to the others, with a set of puzzles that have increasing difficulty, instead of being in sequence with them. But if your kid is flying through puzzles, the more options the better. Mighty Mind starts incredibly simple. The first few puzzles are just a couple pieces to get you used to the format. A kid doing 100 piece puzzles could easily start in on it now. I suspect he will fly through MM pretty quickly and you'll be upgrading to Super Mind. I know that pattern blocks have simple puzzles out there, but that's not how we've used ours. We use them as open-ended pattern building and in discussions of tessellations. You can pick up a set cheaply (again, I suggest magnetic for very young hands, as it's so easy to knock your design out of place) and just play with these. A puzzle-loving kid will likely come up with making their own designs pretty quickly. Quote
hisforhomeschooling Posted March 15, 2016 Author Posted March 15, 2016 Mighty Mind/Super Mind are really an alternative to the others, with a set of puzzles that have increasing difficulty, instead of being in sequence with them. But if your kid is flying through puzzles, the more options the better. Mighty Mind starts incredibly simple. The first few puzzles are just a couple pieces to get you used to the format. A kid doing 100 piece puzzles could easily start in on it now. I suspect he will fly through MM pretty quickly and you'll be upgrading to Super Mind. I know that pattern blocks have simple puzzles out there, but that's not how we've used ours. We use them as open-ended pattern building and in discussions of tessellations. You can pick up a set cheaply (again, I suggest magnetic for very young hands, as it's so easy to knock your design out of place) and just play with these. A puzzle-loving kid will likely come up with making their own designs pretty quickly. Thanks for the thoughts and ideas! We do have the magnetic Melissa and Doug pattern blocks and he enjoys them with activity cards. I guess I actually have never given them to him to just experiment with. I will try that. I don't think he would understand an actual discussion of tessellations, being only 2.5, but I could show him what they are and tell him the word. And open-ended pattern building would be fun :) Also, thanks for the opinion about starting with Mighty Mind. I might have gotten Mini Mighty Mind if I had found it on my own, and it sounds like that would be a waste of money with him. So, thanks again! Quote
theelfqueen Posted March 15, 2016 Posted March 15, 2016 Hoppers and Rush Hour junior games might be. A good fit. My youngest was doing puzzles like that at about that age and liked those puzzle games. Quote
hisforhomeschooling Posted March 15, 2016 Author Posted March 15, 2016 Hoppers and Rush Hour junior games might be. A good fit. My youngest was doing puzzles like that at about that age and liked those puzzle games. I have those on our wish list for him! He also is obsessed with penguins so I think that will be the first one we get :) Thanks! Quote
rebereid Posted March 19, 2016 Posted March 19, 2016 My son who loved puzzles at that age had great visual memory. It really helped him learn to read quickly, as he memorized the shape of the different letters, and short words, very easily. Throw in some alphabet games and see what happens. This just made everything click for me with my son. He did huge puzzles at a young age too. He taught him self to read at 3 and still loves browsing on maps and can tell me anywhere we're going what roads go where. He must memorize them. Anyway, he's 8 now but just reading this thread helped me understand more about him... Quote
Arcadia Posted March 19, 2016 Posted March 19, 2016 We have tangrams and super mind/mighty minds sets. After my kids finish super mind/mighty minds, they just use the pieces to form what they like. They did finish the set too fast to justify full price though, we bought with discount coupons. 1) Tangrams Template (use thick card stock) http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/tangram_template.pdf Book in PDF with lots of patterns http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/tangram-dover.pdf 2) Pentomino template https://www.scholastic.com/titles/chasingvermeer/pentominoes.pdf Guide in pdf http://coekate.murraystate.edu/media/professors/files/gierhart/pentominoes.pdf Quote
TerriM Posted March 20, 2016 Posted March 20, 2016 What is the difference between the Mighty Mind/Super Mind sets and tangrams and pattern blocks? Or are they variations of the same thing? Thanks for the ideas! It is hard to tell from the links. Are they puzzles in books? Thanks for the ideas! We have SuperMind too. Those are good and include circles and shapes different from tanagrams/tangoes, but it's a similar thing. Puzzles in books: yes, set of 6 or so. You need to be a little careful as you flip, or they can fall out. I close the book, grab all the pages before the one I want and then reopen the book. Quote
TerriM Posted March 20, 2016 Posted March 20, 2016 (edited) Here's an ebay entry showing pictures of the inside of the puzzle books: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ocean-Creatures-Jigsaw-Book-by-Lee-Krutop-/161400130989 (Looks like a set of 5, not 6 puzzles). The animals one is the same. There are other versions--dinosaurs, princesses, space station, etc. Check number of pieces per page before buying. i think you should go for more pieces, not less. Edited March 20, 2016 by tiuzzol2 Quote
Roseto27 Posted March 28, 2016 Posted March 28, 2016 I realize this is a little old, but I would add Color Code and Q-Bitz to the list. Quote
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