So everyone has got these sorts of puzzles at home. They often are pictures of every day objects or animals or instruments, or in this case numbers and letters. They are pretty boring. They don’t often get played with.
If we think about Easter and how much joy there is to be found from simply finding the eggs hidden around the garden, then we can easily convert that into an everyday game too. So why not hide your puzzles? Letter and number ones are brilliant, you can find them HERE in my SHOP. Or check on second hand selling sites as I originally found mine on Facebook Marketplace, or charity shops is another good place to spot them. But any puzzle will do just fine. It’s all a chance for language, sounds, discussion.
So grab a bag, tip all your puzzle pieces into it, then hide them all round the house or garden and then plonk the empty puzzle boards somewhere they can see them. When they notice/ask say “OH NO, SOMEONE HAS STOLEN ALL THE TREASURE!!!” and explain they need to find every single piece and return the treasure!
When they bring them back use the opportunity to chat about the items if possible. Don’t worry too much if they are totally disinterested in what you’re saying. Some of it WILL be going in, even if it doesn’t seem like it. Say things like “Oh you found the M for Mummy” or “look you managed to get back a letter from your name, that’s an L” Praise, laugh at mistakes together, celebrate the win. Then tell them it’s their turn to hide while you sit down for 5 minutes…!
