Toddler Magnetic Puzzle

This was a wonderful thing to keep a child entertained. As long as they're past the "everything goes into the mouth" phase, then this is the kind of make your own puzzle.

Supplies:

A colorful picture

Large popsicle sticks

Flat magnet strip

Glue (non-toxic of course)

Tools:

Scissors

A heavy weight for pressing down

A sharp knife (optional)

As long as your picture fits (is a bit larger) than your popsicle sticks then you're fine. Put a line of glue on the stick, and push it onto the back of the picture.

THIS IS IMPORTANT: leave a little space between the popsicle sticks. You don't need a lot, but a little space will make it look much better at the end.

Cut the flat magnet into pieces that will fit onto the back of the sticks. You might need to ruff up the magnets to make sure they stick. Put one on either end. I should say that mine are old, and not that strong, so check to see how much force is needed to pull the sticks off. If your child can't even get the stick off the fridge, then you might have an issue.

Put something flat and heavy on everything. Leave it there for a few hours so everything has a chance to stick.

After a few hours if everything seems fine, then start cutting apart the puzzle. I used a box cutter to do the long cuts between the popsicle sticks, and then used scissors to trim off the rounded edges.

Stick this to the refrigerator door and let the little ones be entertained by putting the picture together.

So Why?

Any parent knows how a child will change your life. This includes when working in the kitchen. If you're doing dishes, or cooking in general, you want to keep an eye on your child. This works well because the refrigerator doors are metal, and this puzzle has magnets, and the child can entertain themselves. You as a parent can also mess up the puzzle and let them figure out what was different. You can even flip the pieces up-side-down and wait for the child to figure it out.