Puzzle Time

We have several puzzles at the house, mostly wooden puzzles from Melissa & Doug that I love, however, Sadie has never really played with them, so they mostly sit in the back of her toy cabinet. However, she found one the other day that caught her eye:

 

It's technically a floor mat. I bought it when Sadie was a baby because our whole first floor is hardwoods & this was more comfortable for her to roll around & play on when she became active. After she started crawling & wouldn't stay in one place anymore, I cleaned it & put it up.

 

 

I got it out again this winter when we moved her slide inside. We put it underneath so she wouldn't get hurt when she slid off & I didn't want the slide to scratch the hardwood floors. Still, she hardly noticed it. After we moved the slide back outside in the spring, I cleaned it & put it up again.

 

 

Since Sophie is so active these days, I got it out again so she would have more room to roll around & play, however, Sadie really noticed it this time. It didn't take long until she realized that she could take the whole thing apart. At first I was really annoyed because there was a big pile of pieces in the middle of the living room, but then she started trying to put it back together like a puzzle. I was shocked! I don't know if she is at the right age for puzzles now, if they have been doing them at school or if she is intrigued by the size & bright colors, either way, I was impressed. I had to help her put the outside of the puzzle together, but she was able to pick up the middle of each square & determine where it went completely by herself. Granted, sometimes it took her a few tries to figure it out, but I am proud to say that she successfully did it all by herself!

 

Now if I can only get her to put it back together every time she takes it apart. For some reason, it's more fun to take it apart than it is to put it back together :)