If your preschooler loves putting puzzles together, create puzzles of your own, instead of buying new ones.

Take a picture of her, and stick it in the middle of a rectangular piece of poster board.

Decorate the rest of the board as you like with markers.

Once the picture is firmly glued to the board, take a paper cutter and cut up the board into several pieces.  For a toddler, cut fewer numbers of pieces, and for an older child, make more pieces to challenge her.

Put the pieces in a paper bag.  You can make as many puzzles as you like, varying the pictures to make them more challenging – photos of the whole family, pictures of the pet etc.

Tip: Remember to print another copy of the picture, so you can have one ready if she gets upset about having her picture cut up! If you can find small drawer knobs at hardware stores, stick one on each piece of the puzzle – it makes it easy to hold the puzzle pieces as she’s putting it together.

Have fun!