Six in One - Puzzles
Who has the time to focus on activities for each individual speech and language goal? We sure don’t so why would you! For the second installment of our Six in One series, we are focusing on an item that many people have in their homes - puzzles!
Turn Taking: Although some people view puzzles as a solo activity, they can be a great way to work on turn-taking. Whether you are using a block puzzle or a 1000 piece puzzle, if you have multiple people working on the puzzle you are able to practice “my turn,” “your turn,” “sister’s turn,” and wait for your turn.
Articulation: Puzzles have such a large variety of themes and motifs, so the opportunities for articulation are endless! For example, if you are working on the /k/ sound, a “car” puzzle will give you many repetitions! Below are some examples of words to practice with almost any puzzle.
/t/: “my turn,” “turn it,” “too big/small,” “take (out)”
/p/: “puzzle,” “piece,” “put in,” “push,” “play”
Requesting: Puzzles come with different colors, shapes, and vocabulary and are a great way to work on requesting. You may hide a puzzle piece in a clear bag so that your child can see it, and offer wait time until they make the request! Always make an effort to meet your child where they are, so if asking for the piece via gesture is their goal, that’s great! You can also work on more complex requests including “I want the red car,” or “small chicken.”
Cause and effect language: Cause and effect is a great skill to work on, especially with sound puzzles. The company Melissa and Doug® makes great puzzles, including puzzles with sound that you can purchase on Amazon. When working with sound puzzles, it’s a great way to show that you put the piece in the correct spot and then it makes a sound!
General language: As noted above, puzzles offer the opportunity to practice so many vocabulary goals based on the motif or theme of the puzzle. If working on early language, you might choose an animal puzzle and practice animal sounds or farm animal names. If your child has more advanced language, maybe you choose a more difficult puzzle and make inferences about what the completed picture will look like or discuss what steps to work on completing the puzzle in an efficient manner (i.e., do you do the border first or last?).
Receptive language: There are many opportunities to work on receptive language with puzzles including following directions such as “put it in,” “take the red car,” “turn it,” “push it,” or “take it out.” You can also work on specific vocabulary that is themed with your puzzle including “show me the elephant” or “get the puppy” during animal puzzles, “point to the red one” when working on colors, or “get the apple” if playing a puzzle with a food theme.
Puzzles are a great and well-rounded activity. We hope this Six in One blog gives you some examples of ways to focus on a variety of goals when playing with puzzles!
