Riddle Me This! Celebrate National Puzzle Day

A Teasing Riddle
by
Augustus Leopold Egg, 1816-1863

January 29 is National Puzzle Day.

“The first jigsaw puzzle was created around 1760, when JohnSpilsbury, a British engraver and mapmaker, mounted a map on a sheet of wood that he then sawed around each individual country. Spilsbury used the product to aid in teaching geography.

After catching on with the wider public, this remained the primary use of jigsaw puzzles until about 1820. By the early 20th century, magazines and newspapers found that they could increase their daily subscriptions by publishing puzzle contests. ”
From www.cute-calendar.com

• Jigsaw puzzles use both sides of the brain.
• Puzzles improve memory, cognitive function, and problem solving skills.
• Word searches and crossword puzzles increase vocabulary and language skills. 
• Sudoku exercises the brain by testing memory and logical thinking and can improve number skills. Information found at: http://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-puzzle-day-january-29/

STORIES

Some riddle tales to keep them guessing.

A Bride for Khan Turali – Azerbaijan
http://tinyurl.com/cwvgm99

Clever Manka – Czechoslovakia
https://www.worldoftales.com/European_folktales/Czechoslovak_folktale_27.html#gsc.tab=0

The Clever Wife – China

http://tinyurl.com/d7d8clp 

The Devil and His Grandmother - German
https://fairytalez.com/the-devil-and-his-grandmother/

The Enchanted Princess – Russia
http://tinyurl.com/ot2pkwg

The Kind and the Bees
http://www.free-short-stories.org.uk/inspirational-stories/the-king-and-the-bees-inspirational-story.htm

King John and the Abbot of  Canterbury - England
https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/meft/meft30.htm

The Pumpkin in the Jar – Philippines

http://tinyurl.com/na4b57o

Rachel the Clever - Poland
https://literarytransgressions.wordpress.com/2009/12/11/fairy-tale-friday-rachel-the-clever/

The Riddle – Grimm
http://tinyurl.com/lq2mav4

The Riddle – Romania

http://tinyurl.com/no3t5ez

The Riddle of the Ox – Mongolia
https://taletellerin.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/4-the-riddle-of-the-ox/

The Three Dolls - Iran
https://worldstories.org.uk/reader/the-three-dolls/english/459

Weighing the Elephant - China
https://storiestogrowby.org/story/early-reader-weighing-elephant-english-stories-kids/

ACTIVITIES AND CRAFTS

Imagination Soup - 6 Ways to Celebrate National Puzzle Day with Kids 
https://imaginationsoup.net/national-puzzle-day-kids/

DLTK-Kids – Printable Jigsaw Puzzles – Make your own puzzle; many themes to keep the children guessing!

http://www.dltk-kids.com/type/printable_jigsaw_puzzles.htm

Puzzlemaker.com – Make your own word searches, mazes and more.

http://www.discoveryeducation.com/free-puzzlemaker/?CFID=355277&CFTOKEN=12766806

Puzzles Pieces: Arts and Crafts
http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/puzzlespiecesartscraftsideaskids.html

BOOKS

The Riddle in the Tale: Riddles and Riddle Folk Tales by Taffy Thomas MBE
https://www.harvard.com/book/the_riddle_in_the_tale_riddles_and_riddle_folk_tales/

Riddling Tales from around the World by Marjorie Dundas
https://www.biblio.com/book/riddling-tales-around-world-dundas-marjorie/d/1469664593

The Twenty Best Riddle Books for Kids
https://bookroo.com/explore/books/topics/riddles

CURRICULUM

Busy Teachers: Riddle Me This - 5 Practical Uses for Riddles in the ESL Classroom
https://busyteacher.org/16142-riddles-esl-classroom-5-practical-uses.html

Education World – Teaching with Puzzles
https://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/strategy/strategy064.shtml

Free Printable Puzzles for Teachers
https://www.puzzles-to-print.com/

Mentor Education – Five Reasons to Use Riddles in the Classroom
https://mentoreducation.co.uk/11-plus-tutor/12-month-programme/five-reasons-to-use-riddles-in-education/

Puzzles, Activities, and Lesson Plans
https://mathigon.org/tasks

RECIPE

Egg, Sausage, & Cheese Breakfast Puzzle Sandwich
https://ncegg.org/recipes/egg-sausage-cheese-breakfast-puzzle-sandwich/
Easy Egg Recipes - NC Egg Association

RIDDLES

Looking for some riddles to share between your tales? Here are 40 riddles, and most importantly, the answers!

Bored Teachers – 100 riddles for the classroom your students will love!
https://www.boredteachers.com/post/riddles-for-students

National Institute of Environmental Health – Not So Hard Riddles
https://kids.niehs.nih.gov/games/riddles/not-so-hard-riddles    

Teaching Expertise - 50  Riddles To Keep Your Students Entertained
https://www.teachingexpertise.com/classroom-ideas/riddles-for-students/

Think.com – Forty Traditional Riddles
This site is now gone but you can still access it through the Wayback Machine at the link below.
https://web.archive.org/web/20061111123809/http://www.thinks.com/riddles/a1-riddles.htm

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links.  At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

 

Karen Chace 2016 ©
This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission, please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I appreciate your support and personal integrity.