What to do with Tangram Puzzles for Kids

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Have you seen these cool tangram sets at yard sales, local stores, or maybe on Pinterest? Maybe you are wondering what to do with tangram puzzles for kids. Tangrams are shapes made out of thin plastic in specific sizes. These shapes are standardized for both color and size so they fit together to make very cool pictures and are used to solve picture puzzles.

Solving tangram puzzles helps kids work on spatial awareness, visual perceptual skills, thinking and problem-solving skills, and fine motor skills. These puzzles also introduce students to basic shapes, geometry, and patterning. Puzzles made with tangram shapes can be very simple or very complex.

Beginner puzzles will be made with the colorful shapes and the solution to the puzzle is given. Students match the tangram pieces to the puzzle and it creates a picture. As your student gets familiar with tangrams, puzzles can be outlines with no color. Our Alphabet Tangram Puzzles set includes both the full-color puzzle and the black and white shape outlines puzzle.

Eventually, students advance to an empty design with a black outline only on the outside edge. Students then figure out how to fill in the shape completely and perfectly with the tangram pieces.

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Get Our Tangram Printable Here!

Tangrams Are a Perfect Opening Exercise

You can use tangram puzzles in several different ways. As an opening activity, tangrams get kids thinking outside the box, and into problem-solving mode. Set up your learning activities by spending a few minutes working tangram puzzles.

If you have alphabet tangrams, you can use them before you work on letter recognition or handwriting. If you have animal puzzles, you can have your child work puzzles at the beginning of science class.

Make Workboxes with Tangram Puzzles for Kids

A workbox is a plastic or cardboard box with extra activities inside related to a specific subject. Prepare workboxes for a variety of different topics for your child to explore one their own.

Let’s say you want your student to spend fifteen or twenty minutes each day exploring hands-on manipulatives to increase fine motor skills and visual perceptual skills. Make a workbox with tangrams, pattern blocks, and some critical thinking books for the student to choose from.

Use Tangrams for Learning Shapes

Tangrams are a specific type of puzzle piece where a 4″ square is cut into exact shapes such that each shape is relational to the other. Each tangram includes two big triangles, one medium triangle, two small triangles, one square, and one parallelogram. Most packages include four tangrams with a total of 28 pieces.

Use these pieces to begin working on shape recognition with your child. A workbox for your child to learn shapes might contain tangrams, pattern blocks, flashcards, shape puzzles, and LEGO® Build the Shapes cards with LEGO bricks.

Use Alphabet Tangram Puzzles for Kids

Alphabet Letters as tangram puzzles help students learn to recognize the shape of each uppercase letter in a very hands-on way. As your student plays with the alphabet tangram puzzles, teach the sound of the letter as well. Brainstorm different words that begin with the letter you are working on. Solve one or two of the letter puzzles at a time, building on what your child knows rather than giving access to the entire set. Add other letter recognition activities, like LEGO® Letter Build and Trace cards for variety.

Make an Alphabet Workbox with Tangram Puzzles

An alphabet workbox helps your child work on letter recognition with hands-on tools. Besides the alphabet tangram puzzles and LEGO® letter Build and Trace cards, provide some of these options: letter magnets on a magnetic whiteboard, alphabet puzzles, and fun alphabet books to your alphabet workbox.

The Alphabet Room is one of my favorite books for preschool students to explore visually on their own. If you already have alphabet learning toys around your home, those will be perfect for this workbox. Ask your student to spend fifteen minutes exploring the activities in the box after his other work is completed.

Get Our Tangram Printable Here!

Purchase Tangram Puzzles for Kids and Other Resources Mentioned

• Tangrams Set
• Alphabet Tangram Puzzles
• Animal Tangram Puzzles
• LEGO® Letter Build and Trace Cards
• Alphabet Puzzles
• Magnetic White Board and Magnet Letters
• The Alphabet Room
• Pattern Block Puzzles
• Critical Thinking Press Books
• LEGO® Build the Shapes cards