Tangrams

The history of the tangram puzzle originates in China and dates back more than 200 years! The rules for the puzzle game are simple—each of the seven shapes must be used without overlapping to create an interesting shape for others to try to copy. Not only will your child find making and playing tangrams fun, your whole family might get addicted too!

What You Need:

• Scrap paper
• Craft foam
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Pen or marker

What To Do:

1. Talk about the geometric shapes found within a tangram set, which includes five right triangles, a square and a parallelogram. Your child can use a ruler and piece of paper to draw out an example of each shape along with writing the name of the shape, which hones his math skills and builds his vocabulary.
2. Invite your child to create a template for his tangram set by starting with a piece of 9-by-12 inch scrap paper. He can position the paper in front of him vertically and by folding down one of the top corners over towards the opposite bottom corner he'll start to create a square.
3. Now he can use the scissors to cut off the excess rectangular strip of paper at the bottom to create the square. Then cut along the fold dividing the square into two large triangles. He can set one of the large triangle halves aside.
4. Next, have him fold the large triangle he is holding in half, which creates two smaller right triangles, and cut along the fold. He can set these finished tangram pieces aside.
5. Invite him to pick up the other large triangle and fold it in half, just like the other side, then open the paper back up.
6. To create the next tangram shape he folds the 90 degree angled corner to meet the longest side of the triangle; it helps to use the crease in the middle to keep things aligned. Now that this smaller triangle's been formed cut it off and set it aside.
7. Now he can take the remaining trapezoid and fold it in half. Then, by folding down the top corner to the middle fold, he's created the next shapes for the tangram—a square and another right triangle. He can cut out the square and small triangle along the folds.
8. He can make the final shapes for the tangram puzzle by positioning the remaining trapezoid, with the longest side facing toward him, and folding the bottom corner to the middle to form a smaller triangle and a parallelogram.
9. Now that he's created his tangram patterns he can trace around them onto craft foam to make his finished set. After they've been cut out he can position them in ways to see how many different shapes he can create—and try to stump his family!

Make as many Tangram sets as you want so the whole family can play. There are thousands of different tangram configurations that have been come up with, including animals like a duck and a cat. Follow the link for an assortment of pre-made tangram templates, or for some tangram puzzles to solve. Have fun discovering what patterns can be created!