Recently, a friend told me about his experience sharing a “My First Hidden Pictures™ Puzzle” with his two-year-old granddaughter. He encouraged her to look for the paper clip, but she didn’t understand what to do. But when they looked for the baseball bat, which was easier to find, “PopPop” watched with delight as her face lit up. She had figured out how to solve the puzzle! And then she quickly found every object hidden in the big picture. A lot of learning happens as children do these puzzles. Scanning the picture to find small details helps children develop a skill they’ll need to distinguish between, say, a b and a d. Listening to the poem helps them hear the identical ending sounds of rhyming words—an important early phonics skill. And sticking with the task helps children experience the justifiable pride that comes from a job well done. But most importantly, these puzzles are fun. And when you share this month’s puzzle (pages 10 and 11) with your child, my guess is that both of you will want to find every object!