Puzzles and Games for Preschoolers

by Alvin Poussaint, M.D. and Susan Linn, Ed.D.

As television and electronic games take up increasingly larger portions of children's play time, we may be inadvertently depriving kids of important tools for learning. Puzzles and board games, a staple of our own childhoods, serve several important educational functions in the lives of young children.

"Babies and young children learn through play." Penelope Leach, author and noted specialist in child development, voices the convictions of early childhood educators everywhere in this simple statement. While playthings like puzzles or board games may seem like a waste of time, or dull compared to the glitz of electronic media, children love them. And they provide kids with an opportunity to learn and practice many skills important for success in school.

Learning with puzzles
Puzzles help children learn to solve problems. By trying several ways to fit a puzzle piece in place, they are learning the value of flexible thinking, and of persistence. Their fine motor skills are sharpened by manipulating the pieces and fitting them in their proper space. Putting together a puzzle helps children actively practice important skills such as inference, deductive reasoning, and the notion that whole objects are generally made up of parts.

Large-piece puzzles (wood or heavy cardboard)
These toys work well for the younger pre-schooler, providing practice with eye/hand coordination, fine motor skills, and beginning experience in problem solving. Toddlers learn that if a piece doesn't fit one way, it may fit another and ultimately will fit somewhere if they keep trying.
Smaller-piece puzzles
These will continue developing the previous concepts, but older pre-schoolers will sharpen their skills by learning to look for more details in exploring where the pieces go. Are there colors that go together? Does part of the puzzle picture appear on one piece and have its match on another? Can the edges of the puzzle help give it form? These are the beginnings of developing strategies for accomplishing a task, which is a crucial part of effective learning.

Learning with board games
Board games, like puzzles, help young children learn problem solving skills. Unlike puzzles, board games require interaction with other people and therefore help children learn the importance of taking turns, sharing, and even the experience of winning and losing. They begin to understand the concept of strategy as a factor in playing to win. Games with dice, or with tokens that progress around a path, help children learn number recognition and make the concrete connection to the meaning of numerical concepts. Children responding to "Move two spaces" or "Go back three" are actually learning simple addition and subtraction.

Simple Board Games
Older pre-schoolers and kindergartners can begin playing simple board games. Most young children will play a board game like "Candy Land" longer than any adult can bear it. Why? Because it's fun! There are pictures to match, colors to watch for, and spaces to count. Of course, what your pre-schooler is discovering is as impressive as her enjoyment. She's learning about taking turns, practicing counting, and finding out how different strategies affect her ability to win. Children love old standbys like "Parchesi" and "Sorry."

The educational value of puzzles and games is enhanced when parents and children play them together. Puzzles and games provide an enjoyable means for you to share your child's delight in learning through play--one of the most important tasks of childhood.