Kids will love this train shape matching puzzle (with free printable)! So many ways to play!
The first time I gave the puzzle to F he didn’t wait for instructions; he just started placing the craft foam pieces over the template. It took him a while to figure out which way round the green triangle went. He also got a couple of the small and big wheels mixed up, and struggled with the positioning of the red piece because of this. Once I had helped him with that, he pretty much finished the rest by himself.
The pieces did slide around a bit on the template – which was a good AND bad thing! The second time he tried it he got every piece right first time – all apart from that tricky red piece! We had lots of opportunities to name the colours and shapes of the pieces. He was so pleased with himself when he had completed the puzzle!
Next we tried the puzzle in the bath – without the template. I placed the main three pieces for him and left him to do the rest. He did fairly well… with only a few mistakes!
The final way I adapted this puzzle was to add some magnetic tape strips to each of the craft foam pieces. These tape strips were sent to me by craftprojectideas.com and are super easy to use – just cut to size then peel and stick!
It was a few days later when F saw the puzzle in its new format on his magnetic white board – and he greeted it like an old friend!
- Place the pieces directly onto the template
- Copy the train by placing the pieces below the template
- Use the covered template as a placemat!
- Play with the craft foam pieces on the side of the bath
- Add magnetic strips to the back of the craft foam pieces and construct the train on a fridge or magnetic board
- Add Velcro dots to the back of the shapes so that they stick to the train template
- Put all the pieces in a resealable bag and attach it to the corner of the template – this keeps the puzzle pieces together!
If you’d like a FREE PRINTABLE of this shape matching puzzle, please head over to the Craftulate Shop!
What a nifty idea! This looks like so much fun and I love that you can take it to the bath or make it magnetic!
What a great idea! I think Caden would like this too! And the possibilities are endless!
I love the train puzzle. I can’t wait to make one of my own. I think I’m going to do the magnetic one for something to do in the car.
That’s a great idea to turn it into a travel puzzle!