If you have toddlers at your house, then you probably have a couple of the little wooden puzzles. You know the ones I'm talking about, right? There are between 5 & 10 pieces that come out and then you match them to where they go? Melissa and Doug make a ton of cute ones, but there are also really affordable ones you can find at Walmart. They are a great way for your kids to start learning about how puzzles work, and to get their brains thinking about which way things need to be turned to fit into a certain space! However, once your kids have played with them for awhile, maybe they'll be like my kids and get a little bored of them. This activity uses them and mixes things up a little bit! Give it a try!

You will need:

Multiple Wooden Puzzles
A Large bowl or tupperware
Dried Beans

Instructions:

Fill your bowl with all the puzzle pieces from each puzzle.
Dump a ton of dried beans into your bowl.
Mix everything up!
Spread out all the empty puzzle holders on your table.
Let your kids dig for puzzle pieces and figure out which puzzle they belong to!

Activity Notes:

Putting a tarp down under the table might make your life a little bit easier. However, I've found that dried beans are pretty quick and easy to sweep up. I definitely prefer them to dried rice or wheat for inside play!
If you don't have any wooden puzzles, you could use this same idea with a matching game!