So here we are, the end of January 2021. How are you holding up? How are those resolutions? How is all of that quality family time for the 10th straight month in a row?!?! Hmmmm? I imagine that you are doing awesome, right? Are you starting to run out of ideas of things to do around the house? Was one of your resolutions to try new things or to challenge yourself more?
What if you tried setting up a jigsaw puzzle for the family to work on?
It’s a great option for the whole family annnnnd it just so happens that today is National Puzzle Day! I don’t know about you but I love doing puzzles of all kinds! I always have a jigsaw puzzle out and in progress at my house. I also love mental puzzles such as sudoku or word searches. For those gaming fans, there’s also plenty of puzzle video games ranging from computer games like solitaire or (my personal favorite) minesweeper to phone games like candy crush to Xbox/Playstation games like Portal. All of these different types of puzzles have the same goal: to provide entertainment while exercising those cognitive skills!
The great thing about puzzles is that you can find the perfect one for any age! There are so many puzzles for little ones (like those wooden ones with the knobs). This article from Babylist has quite a few different types of puzzles with age recommendations and links to purchase. https://www.babylist.com/hello-baby/best-puzzles-for-toddlers
Puzzles are great for us adults also. They help activate both halves of our brain. The left brain (the logical side) works through the problem solving needed to complete the puzzle and the right brain (the creative side) works to put the big picture together. A few other benefits of doing jigsaw puzzles:
-increases mental speed
-improves short-term memory
-enhances visual-spatial reasoning (helps with driving, packing, dancing, lots of things!)
-good for stress relief
-helps connect family members (you rarely are the only one working on it!)
Pretty awesome, right?
If I have convinced you and you are now planning to start a puzzle, I recommend starting with a 500 piece puzzle. That’s a good level to start at because it is challenging without being overly difficult. Also make sure to pick a puzzle that makes you happy! I love doing Disney puzzles. The best part about working on a puzzle is when you get to the end and get to see the picture you’ve worked so hard to put together.
I hope you’re inspired to participate in National Puzzle Day. I’ll be celebrating by working on this masterpiece tonight!
Good Luck and have fun!
-Kristin Gillespie, Assistant Director of The Learning Experience Gurnee
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