Why Jigsaws Are So Good for Children
Doing a jigsaw looks like quiet play, but a lot is going on. Children have to hold a picture in their head, notice small differences in colour and shape, and imagine how a piece would look if it were turned around. Psychologists call this spatial reasoning, and it is closely linked to later success in maths, science and design. Jigsaws also build patience and persistence: the pleasure of the last piece only comes after many tries that did not fit, and children learn that a hard job becomes easy when it is broken into small steps.
For younger children, picking up and turning pieces trains the small muscles of the hand that they will need for writing, and talking about the picture (“Where does the red bus go?”) builds vocabulary. For older children, big puzzles are an exercise in planning and in sorting information, two skills that matter in every subject.
How Many Pieces?
| Age | Pieces to start with | Try on this page |
|---|---|---|
| 4 to 5 (K1–K2) | 6 to 12, big and simple | 6 or 12, straight edges at first |
| 6 to 7 (P1–P2) | 12 to 24 | 12 or 24 jigsaw pieces |
| 8 to 9 (P3–P4) | 24 to 48 | 24 or 48, try turning pieces |
| 10 to 12 (P5–P6) | 48 to 100 and more | 48 or 96 with turning pieces |
These are only starting points. A good size is one your child can finish in about ten to fifteen minutes with a little effort. If they finish in two minutes, go up a size; if they give up, go down one. A familiar photo is much easier than a picture they have never seen, so a family photo is a lovely way to try a bigger puzzle.
Strategies That Help
- Edges first. Find the pieces with a straight side and build the frame. The corner pieces, with two straight sides, are the best place to start. Use the Edge pieces only button to hide everything else.
- Sort by colour. Group the blue sky pieces, the green grass pieces and so on. Each group becomes a small puzzle of its own.
- Look at the picture. Glance back at the whole picture often. Show picture puts a faint copy in the frame for younger children.
- Look for something special. A face, a word, a bright object or a sharp line is easier to place than a patch of plain sky.
- Check the shape. Each piece has tabs that stick out and blanks that go in. A piece with two tabs next to each other will only fit between pieces with two blanks.
The Maths Inside a Jigsaw
Every rectangular jigsaw is a multiplication: rows × columns = pieces. A puzzle with 4 rows of 6 pieces has 4 × 6 = 24 pieces. The pieces around the outside are a lesson about perimeter. Going all the way round, there are 6 pieces along the top, 6 along the bottom, 4 down each side, which is 2 × (6 + 4) = 20 – but the 4 corners have been counted twice, once for each side they touch, so there are really 20 − 4 = 16 edge pieces. Every rectangular jigsaw has exactly 4 corner pieces, however big it is. The pieces that are left, 24 − 16 = 8, are the middle pieces.
The line under the piece buttons shows this for the puzzle you choose. Ask your child to predict the number of edge pieces before they turn on the Edge pieces only button, then count to check. Bigger puzzles make great questions: how many middle pieces are there in a 12 by 8 puzzle?
Make a Puzzle From a Family Photo
Children love doing a puzzle of themselves, their pet or a family outing. Tap My photo, choose a picture from the phone or tablet (or take one with the camera), and pick a size. Photos are cropped from the middle to the puzzle’s 4 by 3 shape, so a photo with the main subject in the centre works best. Pictures with lots of different colours and clear shapes make better puzzles than ones with a big plain area.
You can also draw your own picture first. Bright, bold drawings that fill the whole space are the most fun to put back together, and children are proud to solve a puzzle they made themselves.
Printing a Real Jigsaw
- Make the puzzle you want on screen, then press Print this puzzle. The picture prints on A4 with the same cut lines as the pieces on screen.
- Glue the page onto thin card, such as a cereal box, and press it flat under a book until it is dry.
- An adult cuts along the lines with sharp scissors or a craft knife. For young children, choose 6 or 12 pieces, or the straight pieces, which are much easier to cut.
- Keep the pieces in an envelope with the printed picture on the front.
Tips for Parents and Teachers
- Talk while you puzzle. Words like corner, edge, above, below, turn and fit are the language of geometry.
- Race the clock gently. The timer and best time are there for children who enjoy a challenge; younger ones can ignore them.
- Swap puzzles. Children can draw a picture, make it a puzzle and give it to a friend or sibling to solve.
- Use it as a reward. A five-minute puzzle is a calm break between pieces of homework.
Nothing to Install, Nothing Uploaded
The jigsaw puzzle maker runs entirely in your browser on any phone, tablet or computer, with no account and no download. Photos and drawings stay on your device and are never sent to us. Your chosen settings and best times are remembered on this device only.
Frequently Asked Questions
As a rough guide, children aged four to five enjoy 6 to 12 large pieces, six to seven year olds 12 to 24, eight to nine year olds 24 to 48, and older children 48 to 96 or more. Start where your child can finish in ten to fifteen minutes, then move up one size when it feels easy.
No. The photo is opened by your own browser and cut into pieces on your device. It is never sent to us or to anyone else, and it is not saved after you leave the page.
For a rectangular jigsaw with r rows and c columns, there are r times c pieces altogether and 2 times (r plus c) minus 4 edge pieces, because the 4 corner pieces belong to two edges at once. A 6 by 4 puzzle has 24 pieces and 16 edge pieces.
Yes. Print this puzzle prints the picture on A4 with the same cut lines as the on-screen pieces. Glue the page onto thin card, let it dry, then cut along the lines for a real jigsaw. You can also print the picture on its own.