Raised Piece Puzzles are the next step after Pegs. The puzzle pieces are raised higher than the frame background which allows small fingers to easily manipulate the pieces. This extends fine motor development. Puzzles help children to develop a range of skills. These include visual motor skills, proprioception, vestibular, tactile and fine motor. These skills are all pre-reading essentials and are extremely important in early childhood development.

Puzzles with more than one layer have more than one objective. The many layers will increase the difficulty of the task and they allow children to understand more than one angle of the concept being taught. Children have difficulty with concepts that are not easy to see, showing them on different layers gives the concept has more clarity. The concept of layers builds on the child’s excitement of discovery, the hidden layers encouraging them to look deeper.

Making the puzzle into the shape of the subject can make the experience more exciting and rewarding. Instead of the subject being part of the picture, it makes the subject “the picture”. A child can “feel” both the outside and inside shape and it gives them a greater understanding of positive and negative shapes. It may also help them to focus on just the task at hand which helps with concentration and thus the completion of the task. Shaped puzzles are also a fun and exciting way to encourage participation by giving them a more tactile experience.

To “Look Inside” can be a very rewarding experience for a child. It can be used to show many concepts, such as “what is hidden beneath” or to help children to learn colours or correctly understand the difference of shapes. Look Inside can be used in early childhood for young puzzlers but it may also be used to extend the more advanced puzzler by putting new and exciting concepts into a concealed space. Puzzles with more than one layer fit into this category.