Puzzles: Activities for 2 year old toddlers

In theory I believe in allowing children to be bored, instead of rushing in and filling up that space. Being bored is good! But that’s in THEORY, in my head only. In reality it becomes a chaotic bundle of scattered energies! 

So let’s say there are 4-5 hours between school pick up and bedtime, I decided to “fill the space” with a few productive activities into the daily routine, even if they are for just ten minutes each (Except playground which is okay two-three times a week for an hour each)

1. Playground 
2. Chalk (slates, board books for coloring) & Crayon time (ball shaped type crayon paper sheets, in the balcony only!)
3. Books (Although I'm terribly bored of reading all 100 of them several 1000 times!)
4. Building blocks
5. Puzzles

He is 2 years 2 months now and till a few months back I used to wander around kiddie shops feeling hopeless with the lack of meaningful toys for his age. Either the toys were way too baby-ish or fit for 3+ year olds. But as he slowly inched towards 2, I introduced puzzles and although the box says 3+, it's not necessarily so! (Being an "experienced" mother for two years I know better than to bother about the age guidelines on toys, books and clothes!). 

Puzzles are not only fun, they develop Logical thinking, Memory, Vocabulary, Fine motor skills, Sorting and classifying skills, Part to whole understanding and Value of patience and determination.

So I began with a simple wooden tray, with each puzzle piece having a knob and each empty slot having a picture of the puzzle piece beside it. I though it would be good to dumb it down to the easiest level to allow him to get the basic idea of the concept and get a hang of it. Which he did right away. 

Next were the other wooden trays, consisting of pictures of animals, shapes, fruits, numbers:

Next came putting together a picture:

Next came books with magnet pieces:

Next came cardboard pictures cut into two (10 pictures):

Next came 24 odd animal mommy - baby combinations to be put together:

Next. Umm, I don't yet have a next. The above puzzles were bought at Flipkart, Landmark & Souvenirs. I have to go look for more and different ones SOON!