Mighty Mind Aquarium Adventure

Underwater themed shape puzzles.

In the box: 32 plastic design tiles, 24 pattern cards, 1 solution card

Mighty Mind is a name that has been around for about 40 years. They have a whole line of products based on using geometric shapes (design tiles) to create patterns and pictures, with or without pattern cards. I have several of their products and the pieces are brightly colored, smooth plastic, and the pattern cards are stiff and have held up well. The claim they make on every product is "Makes Kids Smarter". You can be the judge of that. They have won many different awards and I regularly use this type of activity in many different forms.

The design tiles come in four bright colors (red, green, yellow, blue) and come in six geometric shapes (circle, half circle, square, rectangle, triangle, diamond). The pattern cards measure approximately 6 1/4" x 9 3/4". Each card has one puzzle to solve on each side, and puzzles are printed on whimsical backgrounds.

 

Two pattern cards.  Large and small circle design pieces.

 

Choose a puzzle you want to solve and lay the design pieces on top of the white portion, fitting them inside the outline exactly. Circles are often just placed on top of the finished puzzle, as in the portholes and eyes in the two patterns above.

 

Solution page.

  For more activities of this type, check out my blog What's in Your Therapy Box? Pattern Blocks Edition.

Try this:

• Play with the pieces before you start a picture and talk about their shapes. Show how two half-circles make a whole circle, two rectangles makes a square, four small squares makes one big square, etc.
• Sort the pieces by shape, naming the shape of each.
• After learning the shapes, put them in a bag so you can't see the shape and ask the individual to put their hand in the bag, feel a piece, and tell what it is without looking. Then pull it out and check.
  
• Give the player one piece at a time to place as he learns. Next separate out and give the player only the pieces that are necessary for his picture. Then place all the pieces on the table with other unnecessary pieces and let the player find the pieces he needs as he works.
• Ask the individual to pick up each piece and then turn it in-hand, if needed, to the correct orientation for placement.
• Use the pieces and make your own picture.
• Make the first picture or two with the solution next to the puzzle page to give the individual an idea of what is expected.
• Make a picture as the individual watches, thinking out loud as you decide why certain shapes will go in certain places, such as this must be a triangle or diamond because the edge is sloped.
• Avoid frustration and keep the puzzle on track by gently nudging pieces back into place if the player is having trouble keeping them inside the outline.
• Correct errors as soon as they are made with beginners. Continuing to build on an incorrect piece will just throw off the rest of the puzzle.
• Teach the individual to recognize and correct errors on his own. If the individual places an incorrect piece, try asking "Are you sure?" or "Try something else" to prompt him to reconsider. If he cannot figure out the error, correct it while he is watching, then pick the piece up and hand it to him to place.
• Give fading prompts as the individual learns to identify and correct errors on his own.
• When placing the pieces on the table to start, pile them in ways so that parts of them are covered to work on visual closure. Can the individual still recognize and find the pieces they need?
• Work on manual dexterity, fine motor precision, in-hand manipulation, tactile discrimination, visual discrimination, visualization, visual closure, visual form constancy, spatial relations, figure ground, visual scanning, eye-hand coordination, problem solving, planning/organizing, logic, recognition of shapes and shape names, executive functioning skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation
   
  

If you are interested in purchasing this item or just want more information, click on the image below.