Help Me Grow | United Way of Utah County

Looking for something fun to do with your children and only have a piece of paper? This is a fun way to entertain children (and yourself) while exercising your brain muscles: Tangrams.

Tangrams is an ancient Chinese puzzle that has seven pieces (tans) of geometric shapes. Each set has one square, one parallelogram, and a variety of triangle sizes (two large, one medium, and two small).

A simple way to play with tangrams is to print out the template on paper and cut out the individual shapes. Have fun creating a variety of objects, such as animals, boats, and people. The rules to creating Tangram puzzles are simple:

  • All 7 pieces must be used
  • Each piece must touch another piece
  • No pieces can overlap

If you want to challenge your children, show them an image made from tangrams and have them recreate it. Try searching “Tangram Puzzles” on Google Images for great ideas of images to put together.

Tangrams are a fun way to sneak in extra learning with your children. These fun blocks can help develop problem solving and logical thinking skills (not to mention other great Math skills).

So print out the shapes and start creating!

What shape are you going to create first? Let us know in the comments!