Dr. Seuss Week- Easy Craft Stick Puzzles

(37 Months)

I saw Joyfully Weary's Dr. Seuss Puzzles and knew that we would absolutely have to include that activity into our week's plans.  We recently started playing with jigsaw puzzles and they love it!  This was a very quick project to put together.  I already had Mod Podge and craft sticks at home, now I just needed to do an internet search for a few of my favorite Dr. Seuss books and print the covers.  I followed her directions, and after the puzzles were dried I started slicing the craft sticks apart using a x-acto knife.  I discovered that if I just score the lines of the craft sticks and then bend the sticks back they will easily come apart.  This project was so simple and quick to put together.  I was eagerly waiting for the kidabunks to wake up so that we can play with them.

 At first they just stared, then they began recognizing what's on the sticks- "That's Dr. Seuss!"

 That smile just says it all.  I did it all by myself.

We recently received this Melissa and Doug wooden puzzle from one of our amazing friends, Mary.  I love how this puzzle only has 12 pieces per puzzle, it guarantees independent success.  There is just the right amount of challenge to this puzzle without the kids feeling frustrated.  The best part of course is how excited they are when they finish the puzzle, "I did it all by myself!"  I see an extension on this puzzle in a few months, we can add an extra level of difficulty by integrating two or more puzzles together to make it more challenging.