Jigsaw Puzzles

Materials needed:

To prepare the jigsaw     -         pencil, black marker, cardboard paper, cardboard (hard), glue, craft knife

While with the children  -          (the jigsaw puzzle), adhesive tape, colours            

Method:   

To prepare the jigsaw puzzle ;

Since we wanted a big puzzle (as in size) and a colourless one, on which three or four children could work simultaneously, we had to prepare these ourselves. To do so -

1) Find a picture you like. Preferably it is just the outline of the picture, and one which is easy for you to copy on the cardboard paper and which won’t be too difficult for the children. (e.g. http://coloringbookfun.com/ )

2) Copy this picture on the cardboard paper using the pencil.

3) Trace over the pencil with the marker. Leave to dry for a couple of minutes and then you can erase any pencil lines that were not covered by the marker. (if the marker you’re using does not smudge, you do not have to wait)

4) Stick the cardboard paper on the hard cardboard. Cardboard glue would be the best to use here, but pva glue or even any other glue stick would do just fine. Leave to dry for some time, and if possible put some weight on the cardboard.

5) Then draw on the cardboard those typical squigly jigsaw puzzle lines. However it is recommended that the lines are kept as straight as possible, and pattern number two is used instead of the traditional semi-circular one (see figure)

This will make the next step much more easier

6) Now cut along the lines that you drew. Since cardboard might be a bit difficult to cut with a scissors, we suggest to use a craft knife*

With the children ;

The children were divided into groups of 3 or 4. Each group was given a jigsaw puzzle (which were prepared beforehand since preparation takes quite some time) and asked to solve it. The children had to work as a group, and to encourage sharing, a number of pieces of the puzzle were given to each child in the group. This forced the children to communicate between them and not just sit down hunting for pieces. When the puzzle was solved, adhesive tape was used on the backside so as to stick all the pieces together and then the children had to colour the picture.

(*Children should not be left with such tools on their own. Preferably an adult helps the child during this step, or at least monitor closely the child if you feel that he is responsible enough to use the craft knife himself.)

Results:  

This is a craft that we had already did once so the children knew what to expect. The majority of them enjoyed the craft and really engaged themselves in the activity. Even when colouring the picture, those who were having fun, were discussing what to colours to use and who was going to colour where. On the other hand some children got bored with the activity.

The younger ones had some problems to find the matching pieces when they were left on their own and they got frustrated. Then once they got distracted from the craft, it was quite difficult to get their interest again.

Improvements:

1)      Children tend to form their own groups. This usually means that there is going to be a group of cast aways. We have to work on seperating the children from their clans.

2)      The volunteers should start helping the children from the beginning to avoid any build up of frustration.

3)      A picture of how the puzzle will look when finished should be made available to all groups, especially the younger ones.

4)      The puzzles must be checked to see that they do stick correctly together. A particular group that did not enjoy this session had a couple of problems with pieces of the puzzle that did not stick together.

5)      The volunteers could try to create some kind of competition between the different groups.