Painting 3D Puzzles

I picked up some cheap wooden puzzles, had my kids paint them, threw in some knowledge about anatomy and PRESTO: a fun and educational afternoon.



Materials:

  • wooden dinosaur puzzle (or substitute any wooden craft)
  • paint & paintbrushes
  • acrylic spray (to seal the washable paints)

What to do:

I setup a painting station and had each of my kids paint a 3D wooden dinosaur puzzle.   After painting, we let the puzzles dry (over nap time) and then came back to put the puzzle together.  I made W pop out his own puzzle pieces (improve that finger strength!) and together we tried to follow the instructions to put the pieces together.  This prompted discussions about bones, and body parts. Fortunately, a naked little brother was willing to serve as a model, and we had a quick anatomy lesson about the vertebrae in our spines.     

Easy modifications:
The wooden dinosaur puzzles are perfect for any child (and adult) who loves our ancient friends. However, if you can't get these puzzle pieces, you can substitute any wooden craft.   A craft in which a child needs to put the final pieces together supports spatial reasoning.

Tips and Tricks:
  • I now use acrylic spray to seal anything with washable paints, because getting water on the pieces will make them run.
  • The instructions were difficult to understand.  This was something I needed to help W with, and it wasn't easy for me.  Eventually, I figured out that the numbers on each piece corresponded to the attaching pieces.

This activity teaches:

Colors and Color mixing.  You may have noticed how R became really excited to see blue and red become purple.  W was excited to create and name his new colors.  This part was especially exciting to see, because it meant he was becoming curious.  He started experimenting to see what new colors he could make.

 Spatial reasoning. Figuring out where the puzzle pieces go in 3D as well as 2D space trains a child's spatial reasoning.  If puzzles are unavailable, you can do the same with any craft that involves building or putting together pieces to create a final project,  like a birdhouse.

 Anatomy and body parts. Because the puzzle involved skeletal pieces, we could start a discussion on where certain bones in the body are located

 Finger strength.  Finger strength is important for fine motor skills.  It's necessary for proper pencil grip, as well as hanging on to monkey bars and climbing walls.

0 comments:

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)