by Barbara A. Black

Created on: June 27, 2009

I really don't remember the first time I helped put a jigsaw puzzle together. I think I was probably between six and ten years old, and it was the very first jigsaw puzzle I had ever seen. One of my older brothers, I think, was the one who brought it home, and I have no idea what the picture showed when we got it finished. But we all had a hand in working it and getting all the pieces in place. And we loved it!

From then until I left home, we often worked the puzzles, and even got our visitors to help out, any time someone came to visit. We pretty much kept the current one we were working on, on the table in the living room, so we could all sit around it and work on it. And when that last piece was put into place, we all had a sense of accomplishment, because we had all had a hand in completing the puzzle.

It was years later that I learned why they were called jigsaw puzzles. The first ones were made of wood, and cut with a jigsaw. They were bulky, but lots of fun, and even small children could help put them together.

So when my children began to arrive, puzzles were among their earliest toys, other than their rattles. They learned to work as a team to put them together, and every piece each one put in aided in developing their dexterity. It also helped their hand-eye coordination and their cognitive skills, because they had to look for certain patterns in the cut and the picture to get the pieces in the correct positions.

I still enjoy jigsaw puzzles, and sometimes will set one up and work on it for weeks, in my spare time, to get it together. I love the more difficult ones now, especially the ones that are mostly the same color or the 3-D ones! I have one that is 3-D hot-air balloons, and I spent time off and on for several weeks before I finished it! I think one or two pieces of it are now missing, however. I will have to eventually get it put back together to see if they are.

I also enjoy doing the puzzles that are round or any other shape than the old square or rectangle. The more angles the pieces have, too, the harder they are to put into place. All the changes that have been made over the years have increased the difficulty in putting them together, but has also increased the shear fun and challenge of finishing the puzzle!

Jigsaw puzzles are fun, educational, and encourage dexterity, family togetherness, and even a little bit of old-fashioned competitiveness. If you haven't tried to put one together in a long time, you should go buy one and try it. You might find that you still like it!

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