Learning how to homeschool has been a… well, it’s been… um… a journey. I’m learning just as much as the kids. And would you believe that something as simple as a dollar store puzzle has rocked our homeschool day.
There are times when all my kids need some sort of instruction at the same time and, as I remind them often, I can only do one thing at a time. If I send one (or two) on a break while I help another, the kids on “break” have a difficult time starting back up again. It’s like they have to be motivated to start their day all over again. And I most definitely didn’t do this whole homeschool thing to battle with my kids more often.
The puzzles at The Dollar Tree have always intrigued me…
So may puzzles.
Does anyone even do puzzles anymore?
Will all the pieces be in the box?
How can a 300 piece puzzle be a dollar?
So I got one… actually I got three.
I mean… they are only a dollar.
I opened up the box and put the puzzle in the homeschool area. I though for sure it would take a few days for us to complete, but we ended up sucked into the dollar store puzzle abyss and finished the 300 piece puzzle in 30 minutes.
We were addicted.
The following day I put the next puzzle out. Whenever I needed to give instruction to one child, without the other kids fully checking out of the homeschool day, I would send them over to the puzzle. They loved it!
And when I had to call them back for more school fun, they were raring to go.
That might be a bit of an exaggeration.
But you get the idea.
I didn’t have to reel them back to school… just redirect to the next activity.
How to use a dollar store puzzle to rock your homeschool day:
- Go to the dollar store. (Duh!) Buy 10 puzzles.
- Place puzzle on a low table. It’s best if you have a place the puzzle can always stay out. That way the kids can work on in for just a few minutes at a time.
- It helps to give the younger kids ideas about what to look for during their break. i.e. “Look for the pieces that have clouds” or “find all the edge pieces.
- Take your time and limit time. It’s easy to get sucked into a puzzle! Don’t be afraid to pull them away when you need to.
- Use the puzzle area if your child happens to get “bored” during the day too! Even if it isn’t their first choice for fun, they will get sucked in. At least mine do!
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becky McIntosh says
Really like this idea!