Is it hard for children to learn maths for the first time? Yes, it is. I recalled how my kids used their fingers to learn counting 1 to 10 as taught by their kindergarten teachers. I used building blocks as counting objects to enhance her counting skill.

Connect-a-cube (interlocking cube) with an activity board is one example of learning aid to help children enhance their math skill. The cube has 5 holes and one peg for interlocking and children will find it FUN to interconnect the cubes. There are infinite possibilities to play and learn with these ONE HUNDRED cubes. Children can use them as an aid to sharpen their math skill (counting, addition or substraction) or to build any models of their imagination.

Having tried her hand on the 100-piece jigsaw puzzle, Aimee did another 100-piece puzzle of CUDDLY KITTEN. Her favourite animal is the cat. Although She does not have a real kitten as a pet, she does have a few soft toys that are cats. I helped her some bit by grouping simlar colour puzzle pieces so she could build them as separate sections before forming them together to make the entire picture. “It’s a cute kitten, Mummy and it is big, looks so real!” exclaimed Aimee. Yes, I am too impressed with the clear reproduction from the photography.

Aimee and Andrea are our first customers to test the new preschool cardboard jigsaw puzzles. They were so excited when the puzzles arrived. The 48- and 80-piece were not too difficult for them already as they have been playing with puzzles since young. So I gave them the 100-piece puzzle challenge, HIDDEN TREASURE – CONDUCTOR that is recommended for children age 6 and above. Here is a photo of them playing with the puzzle. Each puzzle piece is large enough for them to hold and see when assembling. Also, each one has its own unique shape. You will not find another piece with the same cut. As such, the individual pieces will only fit with the correct adjacent piece. The child will instantly differentiate them from the picture and the shape when finding the piece that fits.
It is amazing to see how the children think and fit the puzzle pieces together with patience and teamwork. It is a fun experience to share with your child and his / her sibling.

I introduced this puzzle to Aimee when she was 2 years old. It was a great puzzle as it allowed us to engage in a conversation about animals from around the world. She knew each of the animals quite well. When she reached the age of preschool, I wondered if she knew more than just the names of the animals. So one day, I took out the puzzle and had a “question and answer” session with her. I removed all the puzzle pieces before posing her some questions. The rule was that if she knew the answer, she could then pick up the right animal puzzle piece and placed it into its slot.
Q: What animals are in black and white colours?
A: Pandas and Zebra. She fitted the panda and zebra pieces into their slots.
Q: What animals can roar?
A: Tiger! I told her that the lion and leopard could roar too.
Q: Which are sea animals?
A: Whale, dolphin, sea lion.
The questions went to food that the animals eat, their natural habitat and country they origignate from.
Q: Which animal live in the desert? She had no idea what a desert is.
Q: Which animals come from Australia?
Q: Which animals come from China?
Q: What does a panda eat?
There are lots of things we can teach our children with a puzzle, not just the name of the animals. The puzzle create more interest to a preschooler if we engage them in a learning conversation or even a game.
When she became more familiar with questions, she reversed the role with me. “Now, its my turn, Mummy,” she said. She led the way and I found myself answering her questions. She asked questions like,
Q: What animals can climb up a tree?
Q: What animals can swim in water?
Q: What animals have babies and which ones hatch eggs? I did not expect the range of questions from her. Since then, she learnt to construct her own questions and thought of more questions to ask. We should encourage them as when we grew older, we tend to ask less but there are still more things to learn of the world.