From an early age, children begin to be interested in color pictures that depict animals or other objects. Puzzles will help support this interest: they will introduce your child to the world around him, contribute to the development of the baby’s imaginative thinking, as well as fine motor skills, attention and perception. And any mother can make such puzzles. Today we will learn how to make educational toys with our own hands, namely two versions of puzzles: paper-based and felt.

Puzzles for kids on paper basis

To make such puzzles, you will need the following materials:

• printed pictures of animals
• self-adhesive film for books or transparent tape
• scissors
• white ceiling tiles (laminated) or other porous material
• magnets (optional)

Cut out the printed pictures along the outline. Cover with tape or self-adhesive film. Randomly cut into several parts.

Paste onto the ceiling tiles.

The advantage of this tile is that it can be cut with an ordinary stationery knife and does not crumble.

When cutting, try not to make sharp corners on the elements,
that can scratch the baby

If desired, you can attach a piece of magnetic tape to the back side (then the puzzles can be placed on the refrigerator or magnetic board).

What plot to choose for the puzzle? Animal figurines from the “Where’s Whose Mommy?” series are perfect for this method. or “Where is whose house?” Or you can simply take a large picture (for example, transport) and cut it into two or three parts.

Felt puzzles for kids

Materials:

For the base, thicker felt (1.2-1.5 mm) is best; for applique, you can use thinner sheets (1-1.2 mm). For the base, it is better to take felt in a neutral color.

• scissors
• threads
• needle or sewing machine
• fabric pencil or any felt drawing pencil

Take the picture you like and print it on thick paper. Then we cut out the pattern pieces, lay them out on felt and cut them out.

Please note that you first need to cut out the applique pieces and 1 base square, which does not need to be cut in half.

Sew on the applique.

First, we sew the silhouette of a duck to the felt base, then the beak. This can be done manually or using a sewing machine (we sew with the smallest stitch).

We embroider the eye. Ready!

We take a puzzle pattern made of paper or cardboard and apply it to the finished application (horizontal or vertical is up to you). Draw a slightly noticeable line using chalk or a fabric pencil. A mark from a simple pencil (sharpened and soft) will also not be noticeable.

It will be better if the cut line does not go through small parts such as eyes, nose, etc.

Thus, we have 2 puzzle halves that fit together perfectly!

Now we sew on the bottom part (base), which will hide the back and give the educational toy a finished look with your own hands.

You should not cut out exactly the same part for the base. It will be quite difficult to sew it on. It is better to cut the square a little larger. We sew on a machine (the stitch length now needs to be slightly increased). In places where the cut runs along the seam of the appliqué, the stitching holds well thanks to the small stitches. But nevertheless, it is better to secure it again by making 1-2 stitches back and forth when connecting the halves.

Cut off the excess felt. We do the second half of the puzzle in exactly the same way.

The educational felt toy is ready!