What do pieces of fun add up to? Tangram puzzles! This puzzle game dates back to before Christ and is still played widely around the world. Why? It brings not only a lot of fun, but it also challenges the brains of people of all ages with only 7 pieces. Read our article to learn more about tangram shapes with 7 pieces and get tens of tangram printable puzzles and tangram images.
If you want to play tangram games whenever and wherever then play tangram online. Here are MentalUP interactive tangrams that will allow you and your child to play tangram online. Also, you can join tangram activities when you’re on your way to school, work, or even on a road trip with tangram images which we shared below.
We’ve talked about the online options for playing tangram games, but what is a tangram? Tangram puzzles are a very popular Chinese puzzle. They are widely preferred by parents because they improve children’s attention span and strategic thinking abilities while helping them. Also, tangram puzzles are one of the best home activities for kindergarten.
Are you looking for more online or mobile options for games that will help the mental development of your children? MentalUP, which is one of the best puzzle apps, is here for you! 🙌
MentalUP has 150+ brain games, including Tangrams, other puzzles, Math Kangaroo problems, and math riddles that help boost learning, attention, focus, and strategic thinking skills. 🥳✨
Millions of children around the world enjoy all these gamified exercises developed by pedagogues and academicians! 💯
A tangram puzzle is a puzzle usually made up of 2 large triangles, 1 medium triangle, 2 small triangles, a square and a parallelogram.
These shapes form a tangram square, and the aim is to create different tangram shapes out of them. However, the tangram puzzles numbers may vary as they can be built from tangram shapes using 5 pieces or more, which we will cover in more detail later on.
If you need tips on popularity, look into tangram puzzles. Tangrams are the ancient Chinese brain puzzle games and they have maintained their popularity for hundreds of years now.
Although it is still not sure who invented it, the history of tangrams is traced to a book in the nineteenth century and an old painting of two Chinese people playing tangram that dates back to the eighteenth century. However, it is believed that the name itself must have existed before Christ.
Do you want to learn how to play a tangram puzzle game? Well, the rules to tangram puzzles are very simple but that shouldn’t fool you…
Some tangram activities can really make you sweat, therefore you shouldn’t challenge your children with hard tangram shapes (e.g more than tangram shapes with 7 pieces), but instead start with beginner tangram images and make your way up. So, here are the rules:
Following the rules, you should put the tangram puzzle pieces together to form a shape. You can find tangram pieces to print in our article.
A tangram activity brings a lot of fun, but we will double it with the instructions on how to make tangram shapes with 7 pieces with which you can build tens of printable tangram puzzles we will provide to you. First, you will need:
Now that you have the equipment ready, let’s dive into it:
Step 1: Use your ruler and pencil to measure and trace out a 16 centimeter square on the cardboard.
Step 2: Measurements are crucial for the tangram puzzle to work. As seen in the image, each side has been lettered. Here are the measurements for each letter:
A = 16 cm
B = 5½ cm
C = 8 cm
Keep in mind that each side of a square is even. When you start to cut out the tangram shapes that have been lettered, the tangram shapes that haven’t been lettered will form on their own.
Step 3: Now that you have measured and marked the tangram template, it is time to cut out the tangram shapes. Be accurate and don’t cut too far into the pieces. After you have cut off all of them and formed a 7 piece tangram puzzle, reassemble them to make sure you have done it correctly.
Congratulations! You have made your first tangram square.
Tips
Activities that require attention and strategic thinking have a great impact on improving children’s mental development. The best way to introduce your children to these activities is, of course, through games.
MentalUP is a certified educational product that was designed with the help of pedagogues. It provides many benefits such as improving learning abilities and boosting intelligence. 🧠 🧩
You’ve learned what a tangram puzzle is, how to make your own tangram template and you’ve got your tangram puzzle pieces ready.
Now it’s time to enjoy, and challenge your brain to the tangram printables that we have for you. You can start with easy tangram puzzles and make your way up to the difficult tangram puzzles printable or you can start with a tangram cat or one of our holiday tangrams.
Want to learn how to make a tangram bird or how to make a tangram fish? Print out our tangram puzzle animals.
Tangrams and math are closely related because they are both formed following the principles of logic. Plus, tangrams shapes, which are among the most popular number puzzles in maths, are very effective for teaching geometry. Therefore, take a look at our tangram pdf printable and introduce your children to the fun side of math.
Here are some other easy tangram puzzles for children or beginners.
Creativity is intelligence having fun. 🥳 Games that encourage children to place shapes in the right order, match them, and thus see the bigger picture promote their mental skills and boosts their intelligence. 🧩
MentalUP has 150+ games whose difficulty level you can set according to your children’s needs. You can easily track their progress and choose the games in the areas in which your children need improvement.
Are you ready to step up your game? Challenge yourself and your children’s brain with difficult tangram puzzles printable.
Forming holiday tangrams can be a fun tradition for holidays. Check out our printable tangram activities for holidays.
As we have mentioned a few times before, not all tangram shapes are made out of 7 tangram pieces. Some tangram patterns are made of 4 tangram pieces, which can be an easy tangram, whereas some can be a 9 piece tangram, which can be the hardest tangram puzzle.
Are you up for a change? Here are 9 piece tangrams that form a heart (instead of a square). They are different from the standard tangram shapes with 7 pieces. So, you’ll need to download their own templates which we provide.
All you have to do is print out the free tangram images, cut the tangram shape in the middle according to the outlines, and try forming the tangram puzzles at the top.
Don’t worry, if you get stuck, you can look for the solutions at the bottom of the sheet. Keep in mind that they can be the hardest tangram puzzle so take your time.
Last but not least, here are our 10 piece tangram shapes for you to challenge yourselves even further.
These free tangram printables are also different from the traditional tangram shapes with 7 pieces. The shapes are formed of 10 tangram pieces; therefore they, too, have their own templates.
Just like the templates we’ve given you for the 9 piece tangram puzzles, you have to print out the free tangram printables, cut the tangram shape in the middle according to the outlines, and try forming the tangram puzzles at the top. If you need help, you can always look for the solutions below.
Does the egg come from the chicken or the chicken from the egg? With this easter egg tangram printable worksheet, you can solve different tangram puzzles out of an easter egg.
From a boat to an anchor, there are 7 tangram shapes that you can form out of this one tangram circle. Which tangram is your favorite?
If Tangram games don’t work for your kids, then color and shape learning games might be a good fit.
You can help your child practice, play, and learn colors and shapes with these games 🎨
