Parents... do you still remember "Dot-to-dot puzzles" ? This classic activity from our own childhood, is still a favorite of teachers and parents hoping to encourage kids to work on their counting and small motor skills.
The development of fine motor skills that work in coordination with the eyes is important for academic success. Working dot-to-dots puzzles gives young children a chance to practice gripping a pencil correctly and understand how numbers and alphabets work in sequence.
Besides being a fun process, dots-to-dots puzzles offer a reward in the form a completed picture that can be colored in and displayed.
Introducing children to dots-to-dots puzzles, you may want to offer a little supervision initially. Encourage kids to seek out the next number in the sequence. It's best to draw a straight, even line from one dot to the other, and don't forget to connect that final dot or the image won't be complete!
At the same time, don't insist that everything be "just so." Kids need to be able to experiment and be creative, even if it means coloring outside the lines.
Dots-to-dots puzzles have many variations, and some are worked using letter sequences alphabetically rather than numbers while some spell words. The skill level needed ranges from preschool-age on up. Sometimes, it's immediately obvious what the picture is, while other designs will keep you guessing almost until the final line is drawn.
Highly portable, dots-to-dots puzzles , like coloring pages, are great for travel. They'll keep kids busy and guessing for a fair amount of time. Be sure to provide a good pencil and plenty of crayons.
Have FUN with your kids on the dots-to-dots puzzles.
