Pitcher Magic

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Chemistry Magic: Mystery Pitcher

Jigsaw Puzzles as Kids Yoga to Develop Mind/Body Connection, Concentration, Teach Yoga Philosophy and to Have Fun!

I love puzzles. As a young child, my grandmother gave me puzzles as gifts. As a 4-year-old, I wrestled with the basic pieces, and once mastered, was proud that I could easily fit them together again and again afterwards. I feel that puzzles I did as a child were an integral part of developing my mind and intelligence.

As I grew older, I always loved to do puzzles to relax. In between intense creative work at home, I would take a break to put a few pieces of the puzzle together. I still bring the love of puzzles into our home!

Since we don't have a television or watch any TV at home, jigsaw puzzles at every age have been a regular part of our family entertainment, bonding and connection. It's a great activity to do together, and the educational rewards are great. Chunky puzzles and simple puzzles of nature and animals filled out house during the baby, toddler and preschool years to teach about colors and shapes and develop fine-motor skills and eye-hand coordination. We moved up to simple jigsaw puzzles in the elementary years, and my kids will always join me in making a puzzle, help and examine the pieces and find a fit. We always end up just chatting and enjoying each other's company. While in Argentina, my son was obsessed with hand-made wooden puzzles of geography. He loved fitting each country together and learned about the world. Here in St. Croix, Hurricane Irene got us started on a large, 1000-piece puzzle I picked up at the Rikjsmuseum in Amsterdam recently. It was a mental challenge indeed, but my kids are now in 5th and 8th grade, so it was perfect for them.

Some of the benefits of doing puzzles include:

• It's a hands-on, body/mind centered activity. Kids have to use their fine motor skills and hands to pick up and manipulate the pieces. They learn colors and shapes.
• Puzzles can help kids' critical thinking, reasoning and problem-solving skills. When kids look at different shapes they can compare and examine pieces. They reason which part of the puzzle to start first, or develop strategies to work on the puzzle to completion.
• Puzzles develop focus and attention.
• Puzzles develop memory and concentration, hand-eye coordination, and analytical skills.
• With large puzzles, kids learn teamwork, learning how to work together as well as one person taking over when the other is tired.
• Jigsaw puzzles are good, old-fashioned fun. It's a physical activity grounded in reality, instead of a virtual, disembodied one done on an app or computer. Always go for physical puzzles over computer ones!
• The success of fitting pieces together and solving problems and finishing a puzzle builds self-confidence.
• Kids will develop a life-long love of doing puzzles and exercising their minds. Studies show that those who engage in regular mental activity have less Alzheimer's disease as an adult.

There are many yogic and spiritual benefits of puzzles as well! It's an opportunity to slip yoga philosophy in!

• Kids learn that you can't force anything. Every piece has its place. I (my ego) may want something to fit here, but that's not possible. I must wait for the right piece to come along. I must be patient and persistent in solving this problem.
• Kids learn that everything works out! Everything fits; there is a divine plan!
• We see that many pieces fit to make one complete puzzle. There is yoga, or union, with the puzzle pieces fitting together.
• We have to surrender to the path, enjoy the process and not rush or become frustrated in the process. Ishvara pranidana!
• We can focus on our breathing while we do the puzzle or find that we have become frustrated.
• In between working on puzzles, we can stretch and do some yoga postures.
• Putting together a puzzle is a powerful and creative meditative state for kids and adults alike! Puzzles relax the mind and connect both sides of the brain. It actually puts takes us from a "beta" wakeful state into an "alpha" state equal to dreaming, tapping into the subconscious mind.

You can easily make your own puzzles and it was one of my favorite activities when my kids were young! It's another great mind/body activity grounded in reality and helps kids focus!

1) Simply cut out a picture from a magazine. Try and find mandalas, yantras and yoga poses from old yoga magazines! You can tell a story to go with the yoga pose or picture!
2) Glue the picture to some cardboard and cut the cardboard the shape of the picture you selected.
3) Use scissors to cut the cardboard into several simple pieces.
4) Mix the pieces up and let your child solve the puzzle!

The Crow and the Pitcher by Aesop is a story about solving a puzzling problem! Tell the story to kids and ask them what qualities did the crow have that they can have to solve a puzzle.

You can use stories to help solve puzzles too! Riddles are always fun, or try this story from Aesop about problem solving.

The Crow and the Pitcher
An Aesop story retold by Sydney Solis

It was a very hot day and a crow was very thirsty. Flying high in the sky it searched the ground below for some water. Finally, it spotted a pitcher of water. It landed next to the pitcher, but the neck of the pitcher was too narrow, and the water was too far below for the crow to reach it with its beak.
"Oh!" the crow thought. "I am so thirsty! I am puzzled how to solve this problem! How can I get this water?"

He looked around. He saw many pieces of rocks scattered on the ground.
"Ah!" the crow said. "I have a plan to solve this!"

With its beak, the crow picked up a piece of rock and plopped it into the pitcher. He noticed that the rock took up space on the bottom of the pitcher, and it forced the water up higher toward the neck.

"More pieces!" the crow exclaimed. And one by one, he picked up each piece of rock and placed it in the pitcher. Plunk! Plunk! Plunk! Each piece of rock forced the water up higher, until at last the crow was able to drink and quench its thirst.

This is a great story to tell before putting together a puzzle! A puzzle is a metaphor for life. How can we, like the crow, deal with life's puzzling problems?
Ask kids, "How did the crow solve this problem? How are you going to solve this puzzle? What kind of qualities of character did the crow have that you can use to complete this puzzle? Answers can be intelligence, patience, innovation, persistence, etc.

Namaste and Have a Magical Day!
Sydney Solis

About the Author

Since 2000, Sydney Solis has been spreading the joy and wisdom of yoga and story for children and families with classes, performances, trainings and workshops internationally. From her children's show on PBS to Kids Yoga Camps at Kripalu and Children's Yoga Teacher Trainings at the Omega Institute, to The National Association for the Education of Young Children to the Estes Park Yoga Journal Conference, Sydney enchants audiences of all ages with Storytime Yoga.