Puzzles are so beneficial for young children! Here the best preschool puzzles for children ages 3-5.
Puzzles are a great way to develop the following skills:
- fine motor skills
- cognitive skills
- hand-eye coordination
- visual discrimination
- problem solving
- spatial skills
- critical thinking
Puzzles come in all shapes, sizes, and textures. This collection of the best puzzles contains affiliate links. It does not affect the price of the puzzles.
8-12 Piece Classic Puzzles
Farm Themed Puzzles appeal to most younger children! Unique eight-piece puzzles (also includes 4 piece, 6 piece, and 12 piece puzzles in the box) are the best puzzles to start with. Simple puzzles are beneficial for a young mind. As your child is ready for more, you can move on to puzzles with more pieces.
Mudpuppy’s Animal Friends Puzzle Sticks include 6 pieces or strips to put in order from top to bottom. This is a fun way to complete a puzzle.
The reason I think these 12 Piece Wooden Puzzles are the best is because they show the finished puzzle right above it. This can be helpful for kids.
16 Piece Puzzles
Your preschooler will not get bored of this pack of wooden puzzles. These 16 piece puzzles are just right for little hands and the colorful images grab the attention of little kids. Continue to work on a 16 piece puzzle to build confidence. It is a great time to talk about the correct order and strategy to put a puzzle together (find the corners, look for edge pieces, etc.). When your child is ready, you can move to a puzzle with more pieces such as 20 piece or 30 piece.
15 Piece Magnetic Puzzles can be taken in the car! Anything from Melissa and Doug is a winner in my opinion! And these puzzles are a great travel activity. You could also put them together on a cookie sheet, but I like the handy storage box that they provide to put it together in.
24 Piece Puzzles
A wooden jigsaw puzzle is sturdy and the thick pieces are durable. This puzzle measures 8.7″ x 11.8″. The colorful puzzle pieces are inviting and offer clues as to the right place for each piece to go. After you complete the puzzles, talk about what you see. This will build language skills and attention to detail. How many apples are on the apple trees?
24 Piece Puzzle with a Wooden Tray – I like the included tray for putting the puzzle together and for storage.
Ballerinas Jumbo Puzzle has 25 colorful pieces.
Floor Puzzles
36 Piece Under the Sea Floor Puzzle
A floor puzzle is the perfect puzzle for this age. They include oversized extra thick puzzle pieces and because they are done on the floor, your child can spread them out. The background color of this puzzle may make it a bit challenging.
Animals of the World Floor Puzzle
48 large pieces and both boys and girls love animals.
48 Piece Dinosaur Floor Puzzle is a must have for your dinosaur lover. Melissa and Doug puzzles are always best sellers.
Educational Puzzles
Although ALL puzzles are educational, these puzzles offer a focus of letters and numbers.
This magnetic fishing puzzle game gives your child a chance to match the capital letters, use fine motor skills to catch the fish with the fishing pole and to identify letters as they catch the fish. Chances are that your child will also use this unique puzzle for pretend play.
These Alphabet Wooden Puzzles from Melissa and Doug are great for letter identification and beginning letter sounds. One of the best parts about this puzzle set is that it is self correcting so your child can work on it independently and match the letters and letter sounds successfully. I appreciate the practical storage box. Older kids will also benefit from and have a great time with this puzzle set.
I love the chunky pieces of this wooden number puzzle that are great for small hands and appreciate that it goes up to 20. The vibrant colors are attractive and make you want manipulate and order the numbers.
More complex puzzles are also great for preschoolers! Matching the shapes and smaller pieces to complete a map of the United States is a great accomplishment and one of the best ways to spark conversations about different states, where different family members live, and what states are famous for.
We hope you love our recommendations for our favorite puzzles for preschoolers! In our opinion puzzles like these are the best preschool puzzles!