The Best Puzzles for Preschoolers to Make Learning Exciting

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Do you want to help your preschooler learn in a fun and exciting way? Puzzles are the perfect solution! There are many types of puzzles that you can use with your preschoolers.

Let’s take a look at the different types of puzzles that are best for preschoolers. I’ll show you some of the best printable puzzles for young kids, and then I’ll also share some of my favorite puzzles that are available on Amazon.

This post contains some Amazon affiliate links for your shopping convenience. There will be no additional cost to you if you purchase something from the link, but I receive a small commission each time someone makes a purchase through one of the links.

Why are puzzles good for preschoolers?

There are many benefits of puzzles. They help children learn problem-solving skills, fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination. They also help with vocabulary development, counting skills, and color recognition. You can also find puzzles that will help kids learn letters, names, words, etc. Overall, puzzles are a great way to help your child learn in a fun and interactive way.

What kind of puzzles are best for preschoolers?

There are many different types of puzzles that you can use with your preschooler. Some of the best puzzles for young children include wooden puzzles with sturdy pieces and a wooden tray, floor puzzles, foam puzzles, chunky puzzles, knob puzzles, and magnetic puzzles.

Many people ask about how many pieces a preschooler’s puzzle should have. “Should I get a 4-piece puzzle, a 12-piece puzzle, or a 24-piece puzzle?” This answer can vary greatly from one preschooler to the next depending on their skill and attention span, but many 4-year-olds can hand a puzzle over 20 pieces.

How to Make DIY Puzzles for Preschoolers

If you are on a budget, it’s really easy to make your own puzzles. Looking for an easy name activity? You can take a photo or print one of my free name cards and cut it up into several pieces.

name card word puzzle for preschoolers

You can add letters to plastic milk caps to make a super simple name puzzle.

name puzzle made with plastic bottle caps

You can fast food boxes or food boxes and make environmental print puzzles.

DIY puzzle for preschoolers made with a pop tart box

You can cut as many pieces as you want when you create your jigsaw puzzles. If your kids struggle to put the pieces together, you can modify the activity by drawing outlines of the puzzle on a piece of paper. Then, they can use the outlines as a guide to help them out.

environmental print puzzle for preschoolers made from a pancake mix box

Printable Puzzles for Preschoolers

Some of the best educational puzzles are printable ones. Here are some examples.

Firetruck Number Puzzles

These firefighter-themed number puzzles are free. Your kids can practice counting to 10 as they put the pieces together.

putting together the free firetruck printable number puzzle

Name Puzzles

I have created name puzzles in 11 different themes from weiner dogs to crayons and everything in between. You can use these puzzles to teach kids to recognize their names, work on sight words, counting, and a variety of concepts.

use editable crayon name puzzles for name practice activities with your preschoolers

Alphabet Puzzles

There are so many different ways that you can use alphabet puzzles for letter activities with your students. These puzzles can be used to work on letter sounds, letter names, and beginning reading skills.

alphabet puzzle for preschoolers in a sensory bin filled with plastic bits

Rhyming Puzzles

Are you teaching your kids how to recognize rhyming words? You can use these fun, colorful rhyming puzzles to practice matching CVC rhyming words.

how to teach rhyming words with printable rhyming puzzles for kids

Cut and Paste Puzzles

I designed these printable cut and paste puzzles to give kids motivating cutting practice. Kids can cut out the puzzle pieces and paste them onto a pasting template.

cut and paste puzzles in task boxes. Four different community helper theme cut and paste puzzles.

My Favorite Puzzles for Amazon

Melissa and Doug Alphabet Puzzles – I love Melissa & Doug puzzles because they are so sturdy. These will help your kids learn letters and letter sounds.

Melissa & Doug Upper & Lower Case Alphabet Letters Wooden Puzzle – I like this alphabet puzzle because it has both uppercase and lowercase pieces. Underneath the letters are images to help your kids learn letter sounds.

Melissa & Doug Animal Alphabet Floor Puzzle – This large jigsaw puzzle is great for multiple kids to work together on the floor

Melissa & Doug Self-Correcting Wooden Number Puzzles – Your kids can practice counting and learn to recognize numbers with these sturdy wooden puzzles. These puzzles feature numbers through 20.

ERUGI Wooden Expressions Matching Block Puzzle – Kids can manipulate the cubes on this puzzle to create different silly faces or they can create a face to match a card.

Wooden Alphabet Puzzles – I love that these puzzles are shaped like letters. They are double-sided and each letter features pictures of objects that begin with each letter.

Melissa and Doug Barn Floor Puzzle – Perfect for your farm or animal theme, this floor puzzle is filled with farm animals and their babies.

Wooden Pattern Blocks Puzzles – Kids can use the cards as a guide to help kids build images with the shapes.

Purchase the Printable Puzzles

Are you ready to get started with puzzles? You can purchase the following printable puzzles at my store. Click on the images below to check them out.

printable name puzzle activities bundle

rhyming puzzles and rhyming activities for kids
cut and paste puzzle bundle for cutting practice

Purchase the Printables on TPT

Do you prefer to shop on Teachers Pay Teachers? You can also purchase the printable puzzles in my TPT store.L

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