January 14th, 2010

Puzzle Games For Preschoolers

Whenever you want to have some fun or relax after a long day at work, you can always choose to do something at the computer. Whether if you watch a movie, listen to some music or play a video game, you can have a lot of fun. To play a video game you will have to buy it and install it first. And there are many of us who don’t want to spend money on games, or they can’t install them because they are using the computer from work. But there is a solution for everyone, and the solution is to play a free online game. Like the name says they are absolutely free, and they also don’t require any installation because you will play them directly from the browser. There are so many types of free online games, and they are practically covering all the possible topics and subjects. So there will be a flash game for everyone…even for the small kids, who are just learning to write or to talk. Of course they won’t be able to play these games all by their selves, so it is necessary that the parent or teacher supervise the kids, and show them exactly what to do and how to play each game.

So today we are going to choose some puzzle games for preschoolers, play them and then discuss more about them. We’ll begin with a game called “octopus jigsaw”. In this one the child will have to put the pieces of the puzzle together onto the grid to make the whole picture. Just click on the “Go” button to start, and you will have in front of you a grid with pieces around the edges. If you want to see how the entire image looks, just move the mouse over the grid and it will appear. But as soon as you move the mouse away from the grid the image will disappear, so you have to remember how it looks. You will have to take the pieces from the edge and drag them on the correct position. If you place the piece in the correct place, you will hear a noise, and the piece will remain there. And if you don’t get the right position, the piece will go back on the edge. After completing the puzzle, Trixie the fairy will appear. You can always restart the game by clicking on the clear button. The game is quite fun, and your kid will don’t give up until he gets it right. And this game will also help the kids to learn the mouse control and with visual recognition and memory.

On the site http://www.puzzlepixies.com/ at the “pre-school kids” category you will also find a similar jigsaw game with the image of a windmill, and also a octopus block slider game. Now let’s move on to another kind of game, one that is a easier version for the kids of the famous Sudoku game. And this is the Kidoku game. The difference from the real Sudoku game is that instead of numbers this one has pictures, to make it easier for the kids. And also the puzzle size is smaller. Just click on the green Go button to start. The goal of this game is to get one of each picture in each row and each column such as the same picture is not repeated in each row or column. You must have just one of each picture in a 2 by 2 region surrounded by a thick line. In the game you will also have the clear button to start all over again, and the check button which you must click when you think you arranged all the images correctly. To add images on the squares just drag them, and you will hear a ping sound if you got the move right. When you completed the game, and if everything is set correctly, Dixie will appear on the screen. But if you click on the check button and the pieces are not placed correctly you will hear a voice saying you to try again. This game will allow your kid to learn the mouse control and it will also encourage logical thinking and visual recognition. The four images found in this game are a purple snow flake,. a green heart, a blue flower and a red smiley face. Good luck!

Now let’s move on to the next game, called “astronauts and crosses”. This is really simple game and is a version of the famous “tic tac toe game” (also known as noughts and crosses. Here your kid will play against the computer, but against a really silly computer, so it will be easy for your child to win and to feel good about himself. Just click on the go button to start the game, and then click on the desired square to place your X. After that the computer will place an O, and is your turn again, and so on until someone wins. When you win, the fairy Trixie will appear.

Let’s play just one more game from this site, and we will choose the “shape sorter” game. This is an online version of the classic shape sorter game and it will teach your child shape recognition and mouse control. Just use the mouse to drag and drop each of the colored shapes into the correct hole from the black box. When you will place it correctly, there will be a sound and the piece will disappear. Good luck!

So here were some fun games for the youngsters. But of course there are so many more of them, that will learn your child a lot of useful things. But be careful on the amount on time your child spends at the computer, because you don’t want him to become a computer addictive, and to spoil his eye sight from a young age.