• SHOP PRODUCTS
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Laughing Kids Learn

Where learning is made fun

  • Disclosure and Privacy Policy

DIY magnets using puzzle pieces

July 9, 2014 by Kate 4 Comments

DIY play magnets using odd puzzle pieces. Great toddler activity.

Take Possum (2.5 years) to someones house and if there are magnets on a fridge she is there like lightening. She loves them so much, as I’m sure many toddlers of her age do. Given this, I thought that I should try and make some for her to play with at home.

old puzzle with missing pieces

This puzzle above is one I used to play with when I was little. My amazing mum has kept lots of toys and things so that I could pass them down to my own little ones when that time came. Unfortunately this particular puzzle hadn’t really survived the years and was missing a piece, which I can’t be sure was supposed to be fixed or not. Rather than throwing it out, which seemed like a huge shame, I decided to turn the puzzle pieces into magnets for play.

how to make magnet puzzle pieces

DIY magnets using puzzle pieces

You will need-

  • Puzzle pieces
  • Self Adhesive fridge magnets ($2.80)

Simply remove the backing paper from the fridge magnet and carefully place it on the underside of the puzzle piece. You may need to cut the magnet to fit each piece but that’s it!

N.B It’s a good idea to ensure the magnet on the puzzle piece remains balanced. If you place the magnet too far to the right or left, it might not stay upright with the added weight.

Having fun with puzzle pieces

Possum had a wonderful time playing with all the magnetised puzzle pieces and began telling a story about each of the animals. This was fabulous for her language development and creative story telling skills.

learning with magnets

 Simple games for learning

There were a few games that we found yourselves playing with these puzzle pieces. Asking Possum to point to the various pieces helped her gain a better understanding about the names of animals and their characteristics. Simply asking her to point to a cow or something that was black and white gave her an opportunity to really look at each of the pieces and learn from them.

ordering, sorting and grouping magnets game

Ordering, sorting and grouping/categorising

It became a natural progression for Possum to start moving the pieces around and begin grouping them. Firstly it was according to size and then by some of the colours they had. Some children will able to do this easily and some might take longer to grasp this concept.

which is the missing object game

Memory game

I thought it would be a bit of fun to play a simple memory game. I picked out some of the puzzle pieces and we talked about each of them. I then asked Possum to close her eyes while I took one piece away. It did take some time for her to understand the concept but before long she was able to do it easily. At this point I thought I’d test her by taking away two of the objects. She thought this was such a fun game and played it with Daddy as soon as he got home. LOL

Guessing game for kids

I’m so pleased that I was able to give my old puzzle new life by turning them into fun magnets. I know they will be treasured for a long time to come, which is really wonderful. Make it Kid Friendly also did this with some old magnetic puzzle pieces and Kate from Picklebums created a wonderful round up of other activities using magnets, which might interest you.

Does your child love magnets too?

Some other ideas you will love – 
Learning colours with chalk and water. Great for toddlers   How to grow lettuce indoors with kids    Invitation to play with pasta and playdough
Ebooks available featuring Laughing Kids Learn
Zero to Two: Book of Play    Three to Five Playful Preschool ad

Filed Under: 1 - 3 years, 3 - 5 years, 5 - 10 years, Craft Tagged With: make, pretend play, recycle, toddlers

Comments

  1. Daniya Gardener says

    November 6, 2018 at 8:16 pm

    Aww !! THese are so cute ! so simple and effective diy for children . Really loved it !

    Reply
    • Kate says

      November 7, 2018 at 12:23 pm

      Thank you Daniya.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Fridge Car Track - Adventures of Adam says:
    July 29, 2014 at 5:51 pm

    […] soon as I saw the DIY play magnets activity on Laughing Kids Learn blog I knew it would be perfect for Adam.  We have several peg puzzles that Adam is beginning to […]

    Reply
  2. Serving a Re-purose: Cool New Ways to Use Old Toys says:
    April 2, 2015 at 6:44 am

    […] Puzzle Piece Magnets Puzzles are a great way to pass the day but make no mistake, they are a recipe for mess-making. How many sets do you have at home missing an animal, car, plane or train? By creating magnets, you’ll open up a whole new world of play. We love how Kate over at Laughing Kids Learn not only made magnets but set up several games for her kiddos. This is upcycling at its finest! To get the details on the games and the how-to, head over to Laughing Kids Learn. […]

    Reply

Please Leave a Comment: Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Welcome
Hello and welcome!
My name is Kate and I am a mum to two little girls, Possum and Boo. We have lots of fun together learning with play at home and are pleased to share some of what we do with you.
Read my about page to find out more.

facebookpinteresttwitterinstagramgoogle plusyoutube

Search

Find More Great Ideas Here:

sesnory play
art and craft
nummeracy
literacy
Science
recipes
videos

Join the Tribe!

Subscribe



Find Activities by Age

  • 0 – 12 months
  • 1 – 3 years
  • 3 – 5 years
  • 5 – 10 years

Find Activities by Celebration

  • Christmas
  • SHOP PRODUCTS

Privacy Policy

  • Disclosure and Privacy Policy

Find posts by month

Copyright © 2022 · Lifestyle Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in