Which way do you recommend teaching a kid how to work on a jigsaw puzzle?

I don’t think it matters if you do edges or colors, etc. The conceptualizing will come. The important thing is to do the puzzle with him/her or be invovled in the process.

Find the corners, Do the edges. Work your way in.

Or find like colors and treat each section as a mini puzzle.

They figure it out on their own. I just start out by telling them to turn the pieces over.

Yes, definitely face up.

I like the corners/edges approach myself. But my dad has always loved the monochromatic sections because he can focus on the shapes.

I think you should show them how both ways work and let them do it the way that works best.

My kids and I always do edges/corners first. Then we sort by color. So both, I guess!

Having something you like to do with your children is wonderful. Make sure that the skill level is right (too hard is too discouraging—too easy is boring) and then have fun doing it together. It makes it very special if there is room for your child to figure things out and teach them to you!

I just help them flip ‘em all over and let them go to it.
But if they ask, I’ll try to show them how I like to approach it.

Personally, I like to go the corners edges route.
I think it’s helpful to thing in terms of the big picture.
You get a good grasp of what you’re dealing with.

Then I encourage them to reference the picture
and use the frame as a type of grid.
That way, you can place a distinct piece in its general area
without needing to actually attach it to any other piece.
Hopefully teaches them to appreciate things that seem useless now,
but to understand that it will help them out in the (puzzle) future.

After that, we sort pieces by colour. Then by texture.
After that (if they’re old enough to be a bit neurotic),
we’ll pick out the unusual prong shapes first.

When it comes down to a handful of identical pieces,
we’ll organize an assembly line organized by number of prongs.
That teaches them that I’m totally neurotic and not to do puzzles with me.

Nimis, that’s the most thorough and exact phrasing of how I do a puzzle from beginning to end that could have ever been written. Bravo!

We are epic.

/hugs Nimis.

Give them a really simple one, maybe with a picture. See how they do, help with pointers as needed. Get them to a more complex one, etc.