Puzzle Princess

We've noticed for the past year or so that Karcyn really enjoys puzzles. We have several wooden ones with 9-12 pieces and she would just do them over and over again. So I got her a couple 24 piece puzzles and she whipped right through those. It was around September that we noticed this was more than just a kid who likes puzzles. She has a real knack for them.


She doesn't have a system, like looking for outside edge and corner pieces first and then filling in the middle. She doesn't always look for the colors that match on pieces either. She looks for the actual SHAPE of each piece and where they connect. And let me tell you something...she's got an eagle eye because she finds them before I do. I don't know how she does it. It's quite amazing to watch.

My parents got her a big floor puzzle (48 pieces) for Christmas. It was one of the first gifts she opened. And she had it done and put together in a matter of minutes. Less than 20 and only because she had to rescue several pieces from Calvin who thought taking them and running off with them was the best game ever.


I got her another floor puzzle a month ago for a potty training reward. I sat down with her the first time she did it and offered my assistance to help her out. Yeah...turns out I kept giving her the wrong pieces and suggesting they went in the wrong places! So I just stay out of her way. Fortunately, Karcyn is very sweet and doesn't get frustrated with my "help".

I'm having a REALLY hard time keeping Karcyn in puzzles. They aren't exactly cheap and trying to keep them stored is a ton of fun...especially when she does 3 at once. I finally remembered a Noah's Ark puzzle, over 100 pieces, in our Sunday box. Out of desperation, I got it out to see how she did with it.


Karcyn was in puzzle heaven! It was no big deal and as soon as she was done, she wanted to do it again! Sometimes she works on a puzzle until it's done, sometimes she takes breaks and goes back to it, but not very often. I'm impressed with her ability to focus and find that much patience in her 3 1/2 year old body to do such a project. She is definitely a puzzle princess and it will be interesting to see how this lends to other talents and abilities in the future.

I remember seeing my friend's mom doing a puzzle back in the '80s. It was at least 1000 pieces of the poster "CATS." So it was virtually pitch black with two small glowing green eyes in the center which consisted of about 20 pieces...maybe more, but not much more. I'd like to see Karcyn attack that one!