Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Story-Toy-(Puzzle)-Game

Kindergarten learners love puzzles! I know this is not specific to kindergarten, as many people love solving puzzles. It is a part of human nature. The ability to work through a task that takes time and effort can be a very rewarding experience.

When creating puzzles for my Earth Hero game, I wanted to include a traditional jigsaw format. Kindergarten learners are still beginning to recognize shapes and understand how things fit together. I would include several jigsaw puzzles in the game to promote shape and visual fluency. These would all fit into the save the Earth theme.
I would also include some more challenging puzzles to promote a bit of problem solving and even integrate math skills. Sudoku puzzles are new to many kindergarten learners. I would utilize several different puzzles utilizing the save the Earth theme.

These puzzles would be a fun yet also challenging part of the Earth Hero game. I know that I could introduce these puzzles to my learners now and they would have a blast!

2 comments:

  1. You could make the shapes out of the continents and countries, getting both shapes and geo-recognition going. I love your Sudoku idea.

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  2. You could also expand beyond visual puzzles and include some "riddles": What is made of paper and can be recycled? (lots of right answers here) What is small, shaped like a tootsie roll and stores energy for toys? etc.

    Another kind of puzzle is when you give them five things and ask them to use them all to create something else. Given a bucket, a hose, a tree stump and a flashlight, can you create a car-wash sign?

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