Rompecabezas

You know those classes where one or two kiddos finish early on a project or activity? "I'm done." can be the dreaded statement, especially for the traveling teacher who doesn't have a load of other items to turn to. One simple solution is to give the student or students a puzzle to do. But, I want to keep it light- I can't be carrying around puzzle boxes in my bag. So, I make my own puzzles using pages from calendars- here's how I do it:
-I choose a picture from one of the many Spanish-themed calendars I haved collected
-I glue the picture to stiff paper, making sure the paper creates a border so students can tell which are the edge pieces
-On the back, I divide the future puzzle into squares with a pencil and ruler. For younger students, you will need fewer and bigger pieces, and for older students you can make more, smaller pieces.
-In each square I write a letter (the same letter). When the puzzle is cut up I will know to which puzzle the pieces belong. If you have mutliple puzzles, the pieces can get mixed up and this helps to resort them.
-I laminate the puzzle.
-I cut the puzzle up along the lines I have drawn on the back.
-I put the pieces in a ziploc baggie labeled with the name of the puzzle and the letter I used on the back.
-The puzzle is ready to go!

When we are doing a project, I throw 5-6 puzzles into my bag- they are lightweight and easy to carry around- and hand one out when a kiddo says, "Señora, I'm done. What can I do now?"

¡Diviértete!