The big jigsaw puzzle got a little more attention than you would have imagined before the Memorial Weekend started. Originally, you just set it out to make sure that your 75 year old mother would have something to keep her busy when she wanted to come inside if it was too hot on the deck or the water. In the end, however, many of your children, as well as nieces and nephews also spent time on the puzzle. Your sisters, brothers, and in laws each took turns at the table, sometime with the direct intent of having a conversation and others to escape the heat as well.

Whether it is for a family gathering over a holiday weekend or a regular part of your home life, a big jigsaw puzzle provides the perfect kind of family gathering. Both the youngest children who can do little more than separate the edges from the non edges to the avid puzzle enthusiasts who are always looking for a challenge can benefit from puzzle time. You simply have to think back to the joy of watching a child put their first easy puzzles together again and again to realize the joy that this task can have.

Difficult Puzzles Are a Perfect Long or Rainy Weekend Activity

Especially when parents and grandparents can struggle to keep a lively conversation going, there are many times when moderately difficult puzzles are still an option. Simply spending time together while searching for just the right kind of puzzle piece can even help parents and children who struggle to find safe conversational points. Consider the following facts and figures about the many ways that jigsaw puzzles and other brain stimulating challenges can help a person stay active:

• Any kind of movement gets the brain going. In fact, an active body makes for an active brain, so it is always important to make learning a hands-on affair.
• Dopamine, the neurotransmitter, is produced when doing puzzles.
• The brain does a lot of changing during the course of its life, but it makes the most connections among its cells before a child turns 10.
• Putting the brain into a meditative state, research shows that puzzles activate the brain while providing psychological relaxation.
• A dissection of a square mentioned by Archimedes around 250 BC is the oldest known puzzle.

Whether you are a fan of the most difficult 2000 piece jigsaw puzzles or you are looking at the ways to make sure you have simple activities for your young grandchild, there are many options. From popular 12 to 15 piece beginning animal puzzles for the youngest to tough puzzles for the while family, there are many times when a puzzle can provide the perfect family activity. Memorial weekend may almost be over, but it never hurts to keep your eye out for another big jigsaw puzzle to set out the next time the family gathers.