Homemade Puzzles

Creating your own homemade jigsaw puzzles from things around the house is an activity you can do with your kids as well as creating an activity that they can do later.

• Find pictures you have around the house. Old calendars work great. Junk mail works too. Click on the Materials tab for other ideas.


• Glue the pictures to cardboard such as cereal type boxes. Let them dry well.


• On the backside, draw the pieces where you will be cutting.

  For younger children, you may just want to cut the picture into fourths.

  For older children you can cut the interlocking pieces.

  Here are some pieces I found in Photoshop to get you started.



• Depending on the age of the child, you may have to do the cutting of the actual pieces.
• Once the picture is all cut out, store the pieces in a plastic zippered bag for easy access.

One tip I learned a long time ago was to put a letter or number or a combination of both on the back of each piece and then put that same letter or number on the plastic bag. That way if you find a piece, you will know where it goes.

Now you have a quiet activity that can easily be taken with you for those waiting times at doctor's offices or meetings such as church. The plastic bags do not take up much space and can easily be put into a bag or purse to take with you.