How to Organize a Puzzle Day in Your Classroom or Library
Easy steps to organize a Puzzle Day in your classroom or library to build community and have fun with staff and students!
I can say this for sure…you won’t regret planning a puzzle day in your library or classroom! This was the first year I’ve hosted this event, and I know it won’t be the last! (Be sure to see some pictures below 📸)
Do you want to organize your own Puzzle Day? I know you’ll find it EASY if you follow these simple steps!
Materials
🧩 Puzzles!
We used 500 piece, 1000 piece, and wooden puzzles for Kindergarten (Melissa and Doug style)
You can ask your staff to donate old puzzles, or if you’re doing this in your classroom you can ask your students
🪑Tables/counters and chairs to suit all of your puzzles (we also used the floor for large-piece puzzles)
🎵 Music (if you like)
I played a “relaxing” playlist on Spotify while we worked on the puzzles
How to Organize
Pick your date
Decide on a date (or more than one) that suits the schedule of your school…or your schedule if will be in your classroom. We did ours the first two days back after winter break, which was a great way to easy back into routine after being home for two weeks.
Invite your guests
Send out an invitation to your guests. You can send a simple text email or a graphic with sign-up details. Included in my email was a link to a calendar spreadsheet for teachers to sign up their class for a period of puzzling.
Prepare your space
Decide how to spread out your puzzles, and set them up on your tables. For the first session I dumped out all of the pieces, and stood the box on display for everyone to see. I also left out the puzzle “picture” for reference, if there was one included in the box.
Post some welcome signs and reminders. Check out my FREE Puzzle Day Poster Set in my Resource Library.
Have fun!
It was so fun to watch both staff and students engaged in puzzles throughout the day. Students were relaxed, cooperating, and enjoyed a break from their normal classroom routines. Educators also loved the chance to interact with their students in a mindful way.
Important note: We didn’t finish all of the puzzles, and that’s okay! During one or two sessions, there were a few students taking the pieces apart so we had to start again. This was mostly younger students, and I did anticipate this to happen. The main thing was that we had lots of fun, and it was a great way to build community in our school!
Let us know in the comments if you’ve hosted a Puzzle Day…or are planning one for the future!
