Puzzle-solving.

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V. has a ton of puzzles.  She has shape sorters.  We even have this awesome stacking toy that has interlocking pieces that her uncle (an avid puzzler) gave her, and she loves them all.  She's like me in that regard, and I'm like my father.  We love puzzles.  (My mother admits that puzzles make her want to cut all the pieces apart until they fit together.)

Soon I'll write a review of V.'s iPad apps, because she has enough to actually do that.  But what about real-world puzzle solving?  How do you build those skills?

My father and I used to play this game.  I waited years to have a kid that I could play this game with, and although she is young, my time has come.

 The Lego Treat Trap.

My father would build Lego boxes and hide a treat somewhere inside.  As I got older they became more difficult to deconstruct to get to the treat.

Since my daughter was just barely 15 months old when I did this (I know, I'm a slacker at posting) I made it a one-chamber box with a door.  I let her watch me build it, too.  (I'm so kind.)

The door was smaller than the treat, though.  (Not the one on the ground.  That was from a previous build.)

Usually when things don't fit together or have the outcome she expected, V. starts to yell.  But this time, she tried her way for 3 minutes, sat there and steamed for a minute, and then took another approach.  One of the coolest things is to watch the wheels in a kid's head turn.  It is one reason why I love teaching so much.

Ah-ha!  The lid!

She took off the top and retrieved her cookie.  She also took the entire box apart to make sure I didn't hide anything else in there.  (I think her Papa tipped her off on how this game works.  She knows my future plans.)

 Victory is sweet.

And because she is not unkind, she fed some to her babies as well.