I love puzzles and there’s a special place in my heart for word puzzles. I hope my love gets passed on to my kids which brings us to today’s project: Word Search For Kids using family member names. Solving puzzles has so many benefits, especially for kids. Word search puzzles are an amazing way for your kids to:
improve their vocabulary
strengthen their focus, and
learn how to drill down to fine details
Oh and it’s an entertaining activity that can be done quietly or as a group. To make it even more fun, I thought by using family member names would make the kids even more interested by finding the names of people they love! Want to make your own? Read on for the full tutorial!
*This post contains affiliate links for products that I use and love!
What Is Silhouette Studio?
As you know, I use Silhouette Studio a lot, so I thought I’d share these FAQs as a quick review of the software, which will hopefully answer any questions you may have before downloading and using it to make your own word search for kids.
What Is Silhouette Studio?
The Silhouette Studio software is the design software that helps you create and make projects that you can send to your Silhouette Cutting Machine
Where Can I Get Silhouette Studio?
You can download the Silhouette Studio software at silhouetteamerica.com/software
Is There A Free Version of Silhouette Studio?
Yes. The Silhouette Studio Basic Edition is the free version you can download and use for making, editing and printing your own designs and ones from the Silhouette Design Store
Why Is My Design’s Printout Blank?
If you are cutting your designs by hand, you should set the line thickness of the area you want to cut to anything greater than 0 to see it when it is printed
Use the text tool to type your letters as separate elements so that you can align each one individually
Line up each letter like a grid
As you type each letter, remember to spell out the words or names in the search for the kids to find them. That is, type the words or family member names backwards, diagonally, horizontally or vertically
Under your puzzle, use the text tool again to type the word or names the kids will be searching for. Once they find the name or word, they can cross it out with a pencil
Fill your text with color – I used black
Group your text
Step 2: Design Your Word Puzzle Printout
Use the rectangle tool to create a square or rectangle that will act as a frame around your puzzle (I used a square)
Thicken the lines and change the line color (I used black)
Fill your square with color and center it with your puzzle
Now create an outer rectangle with your pattern or images and place it behind your square from step 3 above
Thicken the lines of the rectangle and change the color (I used black)
Center everything and now your design should look like a polaroid shape
Step 3: Send your word puzzles to print
Place your design on the print area
Replicate your design throughout the print area
Load your cardstock or printer paper into your printer
Send your word puzzle designs to print
Cut along the outer borders of your puzzles
Tip: Try printing a sample on regular printer paper first to make sure that the size and colors meet your expectations
Note: If you have a Silhouette cutting machine, and you want to try the print and cut feature, you can show your registration marks before printing your designs. The Print and Cut feature will be activated by just loading the printout onto your Silhouette with the registration marks and then sending to cut automatically on your machine!
All you need to do now is grab some pencils, gather the kids and let the fun word search begin! Let me know how your puzzles turned out!
Looking for some more fun and DIY inspiration? Take a look at some of my Home Decor DIY Tutorials and craft a little longer with me!