Encouraging the love of answering crossword puzzles in your children is one of the ways for you to help in their overall development.
You can even add on other types of puzzles and mind games into the equation along with other after-school or summer activities like reading, camping and taking music, arts and dance lessons.
In making sure that your kids will not only enjoy but also learn from the activities you line up for them, you need to choose those that will contribute to their growth.
The great thing about doing puzzles is you can have them answer these on their own or you can make it into a bonding activity participated in by all members of the family.
Know Which Crosswords are Appropriate Crossword puzzles are basically the same in format.
They have boxes that go up and down.
You have to fill out all of these with letters that make up an entire word and correspond to a given clue.
You can find them in daily newspapers, in book form and even on the Internet.
Not all of these crosswords are ideal for certain ages though, especially kids.
The ones that you can find on newspapers may be too advanced for kids aged five to eight years old.
You need to make sure that the puzzles you give your kids are appropriate for their age or else they will end up getting frustrated or confused instead of learning something.
There are online sites now that offer different types of puzzles that are fit for certain age groups.
Even brick and mortar bookstores have books that contain puzzles that are appropriate for different age groups.
Making sure that you get the right kind of crossword for your kids will also ensure that they get the most learning out of it.
Initiate Learning of New Words through Crosswords If you are keen about letting your kids learn at least one new word every day, then answering crossword puzzles is one way to initiate this.
Every time they answer a crossword and fill in the boxes with letters to form a complete word, they will learn new words as they go along.
They will also become familiar with their meanings and possibly infuse these words that they just learned in their conversations.
As they also continue answering these puzzle games, they will also learn to hone their analytical thinking.
They will learn to be more accurate about what correct word comes with the right number of letters that will correspond with the boxes meant for the answer.
While there are kids who might find this kind of game difficult at the onset, they will soon find it enjoyable and challenging once they get used to its mechanics.