What really matters- In/Out and other spatial relations. Puzzles are great for your toddler’s early logical reasoning. The first puzzles are very simple with little handles on the pieces for whit to grasp and usually only around 4 pieces per puzzle. I found that Whitney first started by taking the shapes out of the puzzle places. She would appear to study the shape she took out but initially had no interest in putting it back in. (see video)

How to put it into practice-

Tuning In- As I noticed that Whit was excited to take the pieces out but not interested in putting the puzzle pieces I did not try to force that interest. Instead I focused on labeling the piece she was taking out and emphasizing the event of her taking it “Out”. (see video)

Bridging- The research indicates that these relationships of In/Out, Over/Under, Top/Bottom are starting to make sense to toddlers and form a foundation for ordering there world. So I would take any chance I got to highlight those relationships. I never really knew if Whitney was really aware and attentive to the relationship but was comforted by the research that indicates that by helping them reflect on their experience it does sink in.