One puzzle, done together, on paper.
Open-ended puzzles for children aged 4 to 8 and the grown-up sitting next to them.
A new one lands in your inbox every week, with short notes on what to say instead of the answer.
Free. No screens for the child. Just a pencil and whatever is on the table.
Why puzzles, not practice
Most things sold as mathematics for young children are arithmetic drills in a costume:
closed questions, one right answer, a reward for getting there fast.
Real mathematical thinking is sitting with an open question, trying things and noticing patterns.
The hard part is rarely the puzzle. It is the adult, who rescues a stuck child within seconds.
So every puzzle comes with a few lines for you: what your child will probably try,
where they will get stuck, and what to say instead of the answer.
Here's one to try
The pancake tower
Three plates in a row. On the first plate sits a stack of pancakes, biggest at the bottom, smallest on top.
Move the whole stack to the last plate. You may move one pancake at a time,
and a bigger pancake can never sit on a smaller one.
(Paper circles, coins or stacking cups work just as well.)
Entry ages 4 to 5
Start with two pancakes. Can you get them across? Can you do it again without any extra moves?
For you: They will lift both at once, or put the big one on top. Don't correct; ask “is that allowed?” and let them check the rule.
Main ages 6 to 7
Now three pancakes. How few moves can you do it in? How do you know nobody could do it in fewer?
For you: Expect a long muddle in the middle. Instead of showing the trick, ask “where does the biggest pancake need the others to be before it can move?”
Stretch ages 8+
Try four, then five. Write down the fewest moves each time. What do you notice? Can you predict ten pancakes?
For you: They may spot “double it and add one” before they can say why. That is plenty. Ask “why might that be?” and stop while it is still fun.
Browse more puzzles
Get a puzzle every week
One puzzle by email, three levels, short notes for the grown-up. Free.
Prefer to look around first?
Browse the puzzles.
Who makes these
I'm Mark. I have two kids and an interest in the creative side of mathematics.
I'm not a mathematician, though I have a physics master's and a few years of tutoring under my belt.
We do a puzzle at the table most mornings, and I write down what happened:
what the children tried, where they got stuck, what helped and what did not.
Those notes are where these puzzles come from.