Puzzling

As professional grand-parents, my dear wife and I have plenty of items around the house for the grand-babies to play with.  There are blocks & books and trucks & ducks.  Yes, thats right, there is an assortment of yellow, rubber ducks.  The kids love them.  But one of the categories of amusements in the front parlor which gets a lot of attention are the puzzles.  We have several 24 piece, jumbo-size, easy-to-assemble, floor puzzles.  I grew up with puzzles and have always enjoyed them so I wanted to make sure my grand-kids had an opportunity to gain the same appreciation.

The process is simple, I sit on the floor and start working on a puzzle.  The GB say, "Hey, Pop-Pop, can I help?"  We begin by me handing them a piece and they put it where I tell them.  After a while, as they get older and more familiar with the puzzle, I hand them a piece and coach them into finding the right place for it.  Eventually they do the puzzle themselves and I just watch and enjoy what they are enjoying doing.

 Kids need guidance and direction and hands on  experience so that they will eventually do things on there own.  But life, as it is with a puzzle, has a right way and a wrong way of assembly.  A puzzle only goes together one way, and life only works one way, and that's God's way.  When things don't fit, look at the image on the box, and see how it's supposed to look and then correct what is in your hands until your puzzle is the same as the image.  If you have it right it doesn't need to be forced, it just falls into place. That just seems so simple.


Chuck (216)