Peg Puzzle - At Home Speech Therapy Activities
Peg puzzles are colorful, easy to use, and very versatile - perfect for home speech practice!
Children of all ages can be puzzle observers. However, many children may not be interested in assembling puzzles until they are at least 18 months old.
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Stages of Play: Puzzles With Pegs
Toddlers develop speech, language, and play skills in parallel. I’ve created 3 different toddler stages (listed below) so you can easily find the best way to play with peg puzzles to grow speech and language skills at home based on where your child is starting.
Explorers - see the Explorer’s activity
An Explorer has not said their first word yet, but they are exploring communication! They let you know their wants and needs by crying, gesturing, and making sounds.
Pioneers - see the Pioneer’s activity
Pioneers say one, a few, or even as many as 100 words. They are still learning pronunciation skills and they often talk in their own language.
Builders - see the Builder’s activity
Builders talk in short sentences. They enjoy having little conversations and ask questions.
Dive a little deeper: You can read more about our stages of play here.
Choosing Your Peg Puzzle
There are lots of different puzzles out there. For the activities we describe to work it’s important that you find or purchase a puzzle that has:
Little pieces that fit in a frame with pegs on each piece. These are called “peg puzzles” and should not be confused with jigsaw puzzles, which may be appropriate for older children/ adults.
Pictures on the pieces that match pictures in the holes where they go
Feature animals/ objects/ etc that your child enjoys and find motivating.
Does not need to make sounds. If puzzle sound effects annoy you, feel free to remove the batteries and then tell your child it is “broken” (we won’t tell)
Keep reading to see our recommended peg puzzles for each stage of play!
Explorers
How to Play With Peg Puzzles & What to Say:
When you play puzzles with your Explorer, you will show them how to dump out a puzzle and put pieces back again while you say words.
Hold the puzzle on its side and gently tip the puzzle until the pieces fall out. When they fall, put your hand against your face and say “Oh No!” in mock surprise.
Say, “we have to put the pieces back IN.” Pick up a piece and make a show of putting it back while saying “in!” Say “in!” for each piece as you put it in. After the puzzle has been re-assembled, you can do the routine again, starting with tipping the puzzle over.
After you have shown your Explorer the routine a few times, see if they try to tip the pieces out themselves. If they do, don’t forget to make it fun by saying “Oh-No!” with your hand on your face.
After your child has seen you assemble the puzzle a few times, hand them a piece. They might even try to put the piece in. Likely their aim won’t be perfect, but you can praise their attempt when you see them tap the puzzle board with the piece. Don’t forget to say “In!” when pieces go in.
The goal here is for your child to try putting in some pieces of the puzzle, to copy you putting your hands to your face in shock, or to imitate you saying “Oh-No!” or “In.”
Our Favorite Peg Puzzles For Explorers:
Melissa and Doug Peg Puzzles with The Jumbo Wooden Knobs are my favorite for this stage because these pieces are easiest to manipulate for little kids.
Pioneers
How to Play With Peg Puzzles & What to Say:
When you play puzzles with your Pioneer, you will help them learn to answer yes/no questions about facts.
Dump out the pieces of a puzzle that your child is familiar with, such as pets. Put the pieces to the side and encourage turn-taking so that your child can observe your turn. Pick up the cat piece and say, “hmm, is this a DOG?” Try to put the cat piece in the dog spot, pause, and then say “no, not a dog” while shaking your head. Try again with another wrong animal, modeling “no” with a head shake. Finally say, “hmm, is this a CAT?” Hover the piece over the cat spot for a moment before saying, “Yes! Yes, this is a cat!” Place the puzzle piece in it’s spot. Don’t forget to be silly and make it fun.
Tell your child “your turn!” Let them put the piece in however they like. Then take another turn yourself, modeling the yes or no again. Pause sometimes and see if your child answers. Your child may copy and use yes or no during their turn as well.
When playing with Pioneers the goal is for them to copy you asking or answering yes or no questions about the peg puzzle pieces.
Our Favorite Peg Puzzles For Pioneers
The Melissa and Doug Magnetic Peg Puzzles are super fun for this stage! They add an extra element of fun because you can catch the animals or bugs as you play. I also love the food peg puzzles because these are great words for your little one to learn, and the food puzzle pieces can be used when playing your animals or baby dolls as well!
Builders
How to Play With Peg Puzzles & What to Say:
When you play puzzles with your Builder, you will help them learn to understand and use category names while you play with two peg puzzles at the same time.
Get out two different peg puzzles that have different types of pictures (such as “farm animals” and “things that go.”) Dump the puzzles out and mix up the pieces. Say, “oh no! I mixed up the animals and the things that go! We have to sort them.” You can sort them into containers if you like. Pick up an animal and say, “the pig is an ANIMAL, so I’m going to put it in the ANIMAL bowl.” Do the same with “things that go,” labeling the image and putting it in the right bowl. Say the category names lots of times while you are sorting.
Once your child appears to understand and sorts the pieces correctly, try “accidentally” sorting one wrong and see what your child does. You can use the opportunity to say use the word “not” in a sentence (“Silly me! Trains are NOT animals, they are things that go! I’d better move the train.”)
After you have sorted the pieces into piles/ containers, you can put the pieces back into the puzzle board. Say the name of the piece while putting it into a phrase with the word “in” (“I put the car IN, I put the plane IN.”) Pause sometimes so your child has a chance to combine the name of their puzzle piece with the word “in” (“sheep in,” “horse in.”)
The goal when playing puzzles with your Builder is to engage in conversation talking about the puzzle pieces.
Our Favorite Peg Puzzles For Builders
Either the category puzzles or the fun Hide and Seek Farm puzzle are great choices for Builders if you’re looking to grow your puzzle collection.
Peg Puzzle Play FAQ
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Consider storing the pieces in separate, sealed containers to reduce the likelihood that you will lose pieces (we all have a peg puzzle at our house with missing pieces!)
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Children may not be interested in assembling puzzles until they are at least 18 months old.
As they improve their dexterity they will be able to more easily put the pieces of a peg puzzle in on their own. This happens around age 2.
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When choosing a peg puzzle for your 1 year old I recommend puzzles with no more than 10 pieces.
Find More At Home Speech Activities With Popular Toys!
Written By:
Stephanie Burgener-Vader MA CCC-SLP
© 2020-2023. Stephanie Keffer, MS CCC-SLP. All Rights Reserved.
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