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50 Free Printable Children’s Crossword Puzzles
If you’re looking for a fun way to keep the kids busy whilst also boosting their learning, then no look no further than our fantastic collection of printable children’s crossword puzzles. These classic puzzles are always popular, and we have printable kid’s crossword puzzles for all kinds of events, holidays and covering a huge range of different topics.
Crosswords are a popular kind of puzzle often found in magazines, books and newspapers, and also played online and using mobile phone apps. Each crossword puzzle is made up of a grid of black and white squares. To complete the crossword, you need to enter phrases or words either vertically or horizontally by solving a set of clues. Letters are entered into the white squares, and black squares are used to separate the answers. The first white square in each section has a number that corresponds to its clue.
Word puzzles such as Wordle and Scrabble have become very popular in recent years with millions of people playing around the world, but crosswords were the first daily word puzzle that everyone tried to complete. Crossword puzzles first became available to most people through daily or weekly newspapers. The first ever crossword appeared in the 193th issue of the New York World and was created by a journalist from Liverpool called Arthur Wynne. Crosswords have stayed popular ever since, and in 2019 The New York Times crossword passed more than half a million subscriptions.
Fun Fact:
The longest word to ever appear in a crossword was the name of the Welsh town, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch!
Not only are crossword puzzles the ultimate boredom buster, but they’re portable too! Crosswords can be completed almost anywhere, whether you’re sitting in bed or travelling by bus, train or aeroplane.
Children can try to complete simple crossword puzzles from around the age of 7 or 8, or slightly younger if an adult is helping. Crossword puzzles are ideal for keeping kids busy on a rainy day or long journey, and they also help your child’s learning in lots of ways:
General Knowledge
When your little one does a crossword, they’re learning facts and information about a wide range of subjects, including geography, science, music, history, literature and more. A crossword puzzle can introduce your child to new topics and concepts which in turn improves their general knowledge.
Expanding Vocabulary
Children who play crosswords will find their vocabulary improves as they come across new words that they might not have heard before. Your youngster will also learn how to spell these new words and think about their meaning and context. Improving your child’s vocabulary will help their confidence and boost their communication skills, too.
Boosting Memory and Thinking Skills
Crossword puzzles challenge us to use different parts of the brain at the same time, so that the mind learns news things and forms new neural pathways. Regularly solving crossword puzzles can help improve short-term memory skills, working memory and overall brain health. It’s not just kids who can benefit too – adults of all ages can help keep their minds sharper by solving crosswords.
Encouraging social skills
Crossword puzzles can be a fun group activity. Working together with family or friends to solve crosswords helps children learn social interaction and promotes teamwork, contributing to the development of important social skills.
Developing Problem-Solving Abilities
Solving crossword puzzles involves working out the answers to clues and then filling in answers that fit the overall structure and theme of the puzzle. Youngsters have to use a combination of creative problem-solving, logical thinking and pattern recognition to solve the puzzle, and practicing these skills can help them with problem-solving in other areas of their learning.
Crossword puzzles are both enjoyable and educational, so if you want to extend a classroom subject or just have some fun, dive into our fabulous collection of printable crossword puzzles for children and get puzzling!
What’s Included in Our Collection of Printable Kids Crossword Puzzles
We’ve got a bumper collection of 50 kids printable crossword puzzles, all free to download and print. Our free printable children’s crossword puzzles are based on different themes or holidays, and there really is a puzzle for everyone!
If you’re looking for a fun crossword puzzle to extend a classroom topic, then we’ve got you covered! We’ve got crosswords based on professions, space, birds, animals, health care, different seasons, landmarks and even puzzles based on the chemistry lab and periodic elements – a great way for kids to learn a subject whilst they have fun.
We’ve got themed crossword puzzles ready to bring the fun to different holidays and events, including Halloween, birthdays and Father’s Day, and lots of crosswords that are just for fun like our Marvel Universal or cartoon character puzzles.
Simply choose the crossword you want to solve, click to download and print out using your home printer. You can print as many puzzles and copies as you like! We’ve included the answers too if you need some help or would like to check what you’ve entered into the grid.
Solving crosswords is a lot of fun, but it can also be tricky too. Here are some useful tips to help you and your kids become crossword experts:
- Start with an easier crossword puzzle before progressing to more difficult crosswords. This might mean a puzzle with fewer clues to solve, or a puzzle that is based around your interests so you’re more likely to find the answers. This approach can help confidence and skills grow before tackling trickier puzzles.
- When completing crosswords on paper, it’s a good idea to use a pencil and have an eraser handy so that you can rub out any errors and correct them whenever you need to.
- Try to concentrate on one small section of a puzzle at a time. You could start on all the down clues or the across clues first, so it doesn’t become too overwhelming.
- Ask for help! Crosswords are fun as a group activity, so if you’re stuck see if a family member or friend knows the answer.
- Take a break! Sometimes if you have a little break from a crossword puzzle and come back to it later, the answer will come to you more easily. Remember, don’t give up – practice makes perfect, and the more crossword puzzles you try, the better you will become at solving them!
Printable Children's Crossword Puzzle Collection
Space Crossword Puzzle
Holidays Crossword Puzzle
Birthday Party Crossword Puzzle
Marvel Universe Crossword Puzzle
Yoga & Fitness Crossword Puzzle
Gardening Crossword Puzzle
Camping Crossword Puzzle
Professions Crossword Puzzle
On The Farm Crossword Puzzle
Birthday Crossword Puzzle
Circus Crossword Puzzle
Instrument Crossword Puzzle
Holidays Crossword Puzzle
Amusment Park Crossword Puzzle
Vehicles Crossword Puzzle
Weather Crossword Puzzle
School Supplies Crossword Puzzle
Sports Crossword Puzzle
Space Crossword Puzzle
Cartoon Crossword Puzzle
Fairytales Crossword Puzzle
Superheroes Crossword Puzzle
Colors Crossword Puzzle
Vegetables Crossword Puzzle
Fruits Crossword Puzzle
Animals Crossword Puzzle
Disneyland Crossword Puzzle
Apparel Brands Crossword Puzzle
Health Care Crossword Puzzle
Plants Crossword Puzzle
Valentine Crossword Puzzle
Summer Crossword Puzzle
Worlds Capitals Crossword Puzzle
Picnic Crossword Puzzle
Fathers Day Crossword Puzzle
Mothers Day Crossword Puzzle
Landmarks Crossword Puzzle
Halloween Crossword Puzzle
New Year Crossword Puzzle
Ocean Creatures Crossword Puzzle
Periodic Elements Crossword
Lets Get Dressed Crossword
Chemistry Crossword Puzzle
At The Beach Crossword Puzzle
Insects Crossword Puzzle
Birds Crossword Puzzle
Candy & Sweets Crossword Puzzle
Countries Crossword Puzzle
Solar System Crossword Puzzle
More Fun At Just Family Fun
We hope you’ve enjoyed our amazing collection of free printable children’s crossword puzzles.
Crosswords have been a popular brain teaser for kids and adults for many years, and they’re the perfect way to pass some time while stretching your mind. Not only do crosswords keep youngsters busy at home, in the classroom or on a journey, but they can also expand their vocabulary, help boost their problem-solving skills and provide lots of other benefits to their learning.
Are you looking for some other mind-bending puzzles to test the kids and keep boredom at bay? Why not have a browse through our fantastic collection of free game and puzzles here at Just Family Fun?
If you love word puzzles, get your thinking cap on and test your skills with our 100 Printable Word Wheel Puzzles. Each person has to make as many words as they can, but has to include the letter in the center of the wheel. The person who makes the most words is the winner! Happy puzzling!