So... your child is bored, driving you up the wall, and you have no idea how to entertain them and have them learning? Look no further than your favorite locking construction block sets.

Any set of building blocks work, as long as you have the large base plate to build on. And bonus, every time you play this with your kids, the puzzle will be different. This is also very easy to travel with...

Supplies

Building block set
Corresponding base plate

Step 1: Sort Out the Game Pieces.

After you have dumped out the pieces onto the floor, you will make 2 piles of pieces.

The important thing is that for every piece you pull out, you put an equivalent piece in each piles.

You have 2 options:

sort the pieces by shape
sort the pieces by both shape and color. (In this option the mirror would have to perfectly match)

Step 2: Splitting the Board in Half.

Now that you have finished creating the 2 piles of game pieces, you will need to split the board in half.

To do this, grab some long narrow pieces and put them down the very center of the base board. This will create the two halves of the puzzle. Yours to set up on, their's to mirror on.

Step 3: Setting Up the Puzzle.

Once the board is split in half, now you get to set up the puzzle.

For really small children, make the board easy, only a few pieces. As they learn and advance in their skills you can add more pieces and as such, more difficulty to your board. Also, don't be afraid to challenge your child with stacking pieces as they get better at the game...

Step 4: Let Them Solve the Puzzle.

You are happy with the puzzle you set up for your kids? Let them solve it.

Step 5: Do It All Again... and Again...

Once they finish and ask for another puzzle, pull both sets of game pieces off the board. Make sure you keep the piles separate as you pull the pieces off. Just make sure you leave the center line pieces in place.

Now, it's time to set up another puzzle and let them solve the new puzzle.

Note: If you have multiple kids, let one set up the board and the other solve it. Let them take turns trying to challenge each other with their puzzle designs.