Creating Your Own Kids’ Puzzles by VTech Mom

In December I shared some tips for “decluttering” in preparation for the holidays (see “Prepping for the Holidays: Declutter & Donate!” in our Parent Resources). While doing our own decluttering, my kids discovered a number of books on our bookshelves that were falling apart or missing pages.

Not wanting to toss those well-loved books in the recycle bin, we decided to upcycle them in a way that we think your kids will love! We’re making our own book-inspired puzzles!

All you’ll need for this project are scissors, cardboard, glue, and your books. And grab those kiddos because this is a project they can help with!

Step 1: Carefully cut out picture pages or illustrated pages from your books.

Step 2: Glue the cut out page onto a piece of cardboard and let dry. You can skip this step if you are using pages from a “board book”.

Step 3: Trim excess cardboard from around your picture page.

Step 4: Cut your picture into puzzle pieces! Don’t worry if it doesn’t look like a traditional jig-saw puzzle. Square, rectangle, or triangle shaped pieces will work, too! The whole point is creating an opportunity for the kids to brainstorm how the pieces fit together to recreate the image.

What I love about this project is that you can tailor the difficulty of your puzzles to your kids ability and age range.

And the kids will love enjoying those beloved books in a while new way!