Familiar family puzzles

At 16 months Ladybug doesn't quite grasp the idea of putting a picture puzzle back together (which I think it totally fine for her age) - she has wooden shape puzzles which she is beginning to understand (read: bash a piece around til it fits in a hole) but picture puzzles don't even get a second glance, she doesn't seem to have an understanding of the task at hand. I figured a lot of this probably has to do with the fact she doesn't know that it will make a picture, doesn't recognise what the picture is of and doesn't understand that the pieces fit together. The concept seems a bit unrecognisable at the moment ...so how can I help her understand? What if I made the pictures familiar to her and the pieces big so she can handle them and move them around easily... Like us, our cat and herself!

I found an old box and cut the sides away:

Printed off some A4 pictures of things she knows (I used a picture of my husband and I, our cat Rufus and one of herself) and glued them to the cardboard:

Cut out the picture and covered them in clear contact (this step is optional but will obviously help your puzzle last a bit longer!) I found it easiest to secure the contact down with some blutak and then place the cardboard on top (picture side down):

 

Cut away the corners and fold over the edges (to keep the contact from overlapping):

Then cut your picture into large, easy to manage pieces. I found it best to draw the pieces on the back of the cardboard first and then follow the lines.

   

**Originally I tried to run the pictures through the laminator but the cardboard was too thick for it to work**

 

 

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