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As summer break approaches, it can be tricky to keep young kindergarten students engaged in learning. This is the perfect time to bring out some activities that your students haven’t seen before! In this post, I’m going to share some fun printable puzzles for kindergarten that you can use to bring instant engagement to your classroom at the end of the year.
It just takes one glance to realize these aren’t typical jigsaw puzzles! Students are able to practice important literacy and math skills as they assemble each summer-themed shape. Students are always so excited to discover the picture that they’re building!
Here are some tips for getting started with these free puzzles:
These puzzles are easy to prep! Just print them off and cut out the individual pieces for each puzzle. If you’d like the puzzle to be a little more durable, you can print off the puzzle pieces on card stock or laminate the paper before cutting. Each cut is a straight line or slight curve instead of a jigsaw pattern, so it doesn’t take long to get all of the pieces prepped and ready to go.
While you’re prepping this activity, be sure to print out the recording sheets and illustrated direction cards to go with each puzzle!
As with any new activity in kindergarten, you’ll want to introduce these puzzles to your students before having them work independently. You can show them how each puzzle piece has information on the top and the bottom. They match up the puzzle pieces by creating a train of sorts. The bottom of one piece will match the top of another piece, and so on.
Many teachers like to practice putting these puzzles together during small group time. It makes it easy for the students to participate in putting together the puzzle since they can easily see the pieces and take several turns. Completing the puzzles in a small group first provides a great opportunity for students to practice the activity before trying it independently.
Once all of the students have had a chance to learn about the picture puzzles and how they work, you can then add the puzzles to your centers rotations or another independent work time.
The illustrated direction cards make it easy for students to remember how they’re supposed to assemble the puzzle. As they find the correct pieces, students can complete a recording sheet to document the matches that they find.
As I mentioned above, you can use these printable picture puzzles for independent work time in your classroom. There are truly so many ways that you can use these fun puzzles to help your students practice literacy and math skills.
Once your students understand how these puzzles work, they can be a fun way to welcome your students to class in the morning! Students can work independently or quietly with partners while they wait for the daily routine to start. The pieces are quiet to use and easy to clean up, making this activity ideal for a quiet morning work activity.
As I mentioned above, these summer-themed puzzles are perfect for end-of-the-year centers in kindergarten. Just add a puzzle to your daily rotations and students will get right to work! The recording sheet ensures that students are thinking about the concepts practiced in the puzzle and not just assembling the pieces.
Plus, the touch of seasonal fun is a great way for students to channel their excitement as the last day of school approaches. They think it’s so fun to build a pineapple or a popsicle with these unique picture puzzles!
Do you provide early finisher activity options for your students? You can include a couple of these puzzles for students to choose from. They can quietly assemble the puzzles as they wait for the class to transition to the next activity.
Are you planning a party at the end of the school year? It’s always fun to have different stations for students to visit during the class party. These summer-themed puzzles are a perfect option for those party stations!
If you’re assembling review activities for your students to complete over the summer, you might consider including one of these printable puzzles! You can target a specific skill for each student by choosing a particular puzzle to send home with them.
You can choose to have the pieces cut out already and stored in a small plastic bag or you can send home the printed puzzle with instructions for families to cut out the pieces at home. Either way, this will be a fun way for students to practice important skills at home over the summer.
Would you like to grab your free copy of these printable puzzles? I’ve put together an easy-to-download freebie with everything you need to use these activities in your classroom. You’ll find four different summer-themed puzzles in this freebie:
In addition to the puzzles and teacher directions, you’ll also find illustrated student direction cards and recording sheets. You can use these additional resources to increase independence and accountability when using the puzzles for independent work time.
Just fill out the information below and I’ll send this freebie straight to your inbox!
Be sure to save this post so you can find it later! Just add the pin below to your favorite teaching board on Pinterest. You’ll be able to quickly find these free printable puzzles when you’re looking for a fun activity to use in your kindergarten classroom.
If you’re looking for even more summer-themed freebies for your kindergarten students, be sure to check out my summer dot painting pages. These free printable painting activities are also a huge hit with students!
These alphabet books will have students dive deep into learning about each letter of the alphabet while eager to see what activity they get to complete next!
