Anatomy Puzzle for Kids: A Review of the Dr. Livingston JR Human Body Floor Puzzle

I received a COMPLIMENTARY copy of this puzzle from Timberdoodle in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way. This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my Terms of Use and Disclosure Policy page. Thank you.

Do you like to include fun activities in your homeschool day? We love being able to bring learning to life by using hands-on activities like games, experiments, and puzzles, especially in our science lessons. I find that our children retain more information when they can be actively involved in their learning. Being able to include a well-made puzzle like the Dr. Livingston JR Human Body Floor Puzzle into our science lessons helps bring our science to life. 

As a member of the Timberdoodle Blog Team, we were privileged with being able to review the Dr. Livingston JR Human Body Floor Puzzle in our homeschool. We reviewed Dr. Livingston's Anatomy Jigsaw Puzzle: The Human Thorax last year with our oldest, so I knew the quality of the puzzle would be excellent and that our children would enjoy completing it. 

What Is the Dr. Livingston JR Human Body Floor Puzzle? 

The Dr. Livingston JR Human Body Floor Puzzle is a 100-piece floor puzzle that measures four feet in length. It depicts the following parts of the body with a 50% magnification: 

• Head with the brain and eye 
• Chest showing the lungs
• Abdomen showing the digestive organs 
• Limbs showing muscles, bones, arteries, and veins 

There are no gender-related details in the puzzle. 

It is just one fun and educational part of the 2022 First-Grade Curriculum Kit from Timberdoodle. 

How Did We Use the Kids Anatomy Puzzle in Our Homeschool? 

The day after the kids' anatomy puzzle arrived, our children joined me on the floor to put it together. We started before dinner time, took a break, and then jumped back into the puzzle after dinner. We even coaxed the oldest (who is now 19 years old) to help us complete it.

Timberdoodle offers a variety of wonderful resources that would be perfect to accompany the Dr. Livingston JR Human Body Floor Puzzle or the other Dr. Livingston Anatomy puzzles, including Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology (which we hope to use in a few years), the Usborne - My Very First Science Book (find my review here: Book Club: My Very First Body Book Review), and the Dr. Bonyfide Presents Bones series (which I also hope to use soon). 

While we only have one of these resources from Timberdoodle, I did a quick search through my files and found some different anatomy worksheets and lapbooking activities for us to work on before, during, and after our puzzle-building time. When you homeschool, it is so easy to find things to fit together into your homeschool day. 

As we didn't use a formal anatomy curriculum in conjunction with the puzzle, I can see a number of ways you could incorporate the kids' anatomy puzzle into your homeschool routine. From allowing your children to complete it while you are occupied with other duties (but you still want homeschooling to happen) to a more formal use of it during your science lesson, the possibilities are almost limitless. 

What Did We Think? 

We struggled with putting together The Human Thorax puzzle because it was so detailed and intricate. Our children definitely wanted to help their older brother but it wasn't possible for them to do a lot more than find the correct colors. With the Dr. Livingston JR Human Body Floor Puzzle, our children are able to complete the puzzle independently. Yes, we worked on it together the first time but with each successive time, they are able to put it together with less and less help. In fact, the second time it only took us about 20 minutes, even though we were talking about the different parts of the body as we put the puzzle together. 

When asking our son about the kids' anatomy puzzle, he said, "I think it is a good puzzle if you want difficulty but don't want to move on to the harder puzzles."  He said the puzzles are good for children of different ages. The Dr. Livingston JR Human Body Floor Puzzle "is more of a kid-sized body, while the Thorax one we put together would fit an adult-sized body" (actually it would be over 7 feet tall if they were all put together). He enjoyed focusing on a specific part of the puzzle each time we put it together. 

Our daughter learned about the different parts of the body. For example, she said, "This is what my bones and muscles look like." And she really enjoys doing things together as a family, so completing this puzzle was perfect for her. 

I definitely appreciate the quality of the puzzle pieces and the strong box with a Velcro flap for its storage. The double-sided laminated sheet with the body labeled on one size and fun facts on the other was a great addition to the puzzle. It helped us put together the kids' anatomy puzzle as well as provided interesting facts to read while we completed the puzzle. 

I would recommend the Dr. Livingston JR Human Body Floor Puzzle to families with preschool to elementary-aged children. I think younger children will benefit from putting together a puzzle that might be a tad more difficult than the average floor puzzle. Older children will benefit not only from completing the puzzle – looking for the pieces that match up – but also from the discussions that can be had from the content of the puzzle. This is an excellent hands-on learning resource for your homeschool. 

What Else Can You Find at Timberdoodle? 

Language Arts - Mosdos Press Literature Opal Edition - Read my review here: Building Reading Comprehension and Fluency Skills: A Review of Mosdos Press Literature - Opal 

History Resources -  U.S. History Detective® Book Two - Read my review here: Critical Thinking and Supporting History: A Review of U.S. History Detective® Book Two