While the men were busy working on water purification, I was inside corralling children away from the blazing fires, saws, machetes, and power tools. And since we had lots of time on our hands, we played with everything we could think of. The old kids especially enjoyed long puzzle sessions.
Puzzles are really challenging for the kids and adults alike. They have improved really quickly, but its evident it is an untapped part of their brain. It is so interesting to see them think it through in what sometimes seems like an illogical way to me, but then intrigues me all the more.
This one is a Snow White puzzle of 100 pieces, and it has only been conquered once before–by multiple kids and over two days. Tin Tin Ton was determined, though. The first day she did it with help coming and going, and it took over an hour. The second day she was much quicker and did it by herself in about thirty minutes!
Jor Gee is a creative puzzler. I watched him put together a number puzzle: 20 individual puzzles, with the number one on a blue piece and one lion on the other blue, the number 14 on a red piece and fourteen bananas on the other red piece. In my logic, you would use the numbers, which he knows, and count the items, or the colors and just match them together. Instead, he used the pictures on the box. He would find the number 14, see that it was matched with bananas, and try to find the bananas. He did manage the whole puzzle, though!
And even better, he really likes to go up to a puzzle that another kid has already finished and take out one or two pieces. He then puts them back, and cheers for himself! Awesome.
Overall, they are absolutely determined. You can just see their minds swirling and trying to coordinate how this goes together. And considering the number of memory cards that have been ripped, eaten, or otherwise destroyed, we amazingly have all but two puzzle pieces to over fifteen puzzles. That’s a mind-boggling accomplishment in and of itself.