Sudoku puzzles are one of the hottest trends right now. You can not help but to see books and books of puzzles and solving tips in just about every book store in the US. These have caught on like wildfire and for good reason they are addicting. These have gained such popularity that even kids like doing sudoku puzzles. They are buying books and searching for free sudoku puzzles online to play all the time.
Solving sudoku puzzles is a wonderful activity for kids. There are many benefits to solving these number puzzles for kids. Some of the benefits are listed below.
Spatial Relationships
Sudoku puzzles are great at teaching spatial relationships, which is a very important skill on most IQ tests! To solve a sudoku puzzle you must be able to look at the rows, columns and boxes and the interrelationship between all of these elements at the same time. To become proficient at solving the puzzles kids must develop their spatial awareness and the relationship between all of the elements. This is something that can be very boring and hard to teach children. However, by playing sudoku your kids or students will naturally increase their ability to spot these things.
Number Sense
It is a proven fact that the more kids work with numbers the more proficient they become with math. This can lead to students that can solve math problems in their head easily and rapidly. Well, sudoku puzzles are a great way to develop this skill. In order to solve the puzzle kids must be able to think about all of the numbers 1 to 9 quickly and easily. This helps build the number sense portion of their brain (which is like a big muscle).
Logical Reasoning
Sudoku puzzles are great at teaching kids logical reasoning skills. Since you can only use the numbers 1 to 9 and not repeat a number in any row, column or square you have to use logic to solve the puzzles. To become proficient at solving sudoku puzzles kids must be able to work through logical and ordered steps. At first this can be difficult for them but with practice it can become very fun.
Partterns and Sequence
Sudoku puzzles are often solved by seeing the patterns, sequence, and order of the numbers and this will help them spot relationships in numbers. This will help them tremendously later on in math.
There are many benefits to kids sudoku puzzles. They are a great way to get kids interested in numbers and math and much healthier then playing Super Mario Brothers for another two hours everyday. The important thing is to not push solving them. If you push your kids to solve the puzzles because it is good for them and will make them smart they will not develop a love for them and in fact will grow to resent or even hate solving the puzzles. Instead capitalize on kid's natural curiosity and desire to follow. Start solving some sudoku puzzles in front of the children. You can even do this while they are doing something else and in no time flat they will be asking you, "Daddy what are you doing" or "Mommy what is that?" That is your big chance jump in and make it fun!
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