Filed under: — Board Games, Toys
Written by: Ashtyn at 11:42 PM
As Lil B turns five, I have noticed that he loves to try new things. At this age, children seem to love to learn. They soak it all up so quickly and it’s all so amusing and fun. It’s one of the best ages for children to be because adults have a chance to experience these things that they haven’t in a very long time. Lil B is currently learning to read and write. This means that he loves anything letter based. So, when Melissa and Doug approached us about a review of one of their Chunky Puzzles, I knew I had to pick the ABC puzzle, because that would be Lil B’s favorite.
I don’t want to brag because that’s not my style, but I was right. He loves this puzzle. I think the single favorite thing about this puzzle is that the letters are nice sized block letters, so they stand up on their own. This allowed Lil B to make plenty of incomprehensible words and then ask…”What does this word mean?” I often asked if he knew what it said, but he didn’t seem to know either. However, another plus is that these large letters can give us a chance to help him learn to spell and read.
As we were going through the alphabet, Lil B decided to stop on the letter B. B is the first letter of his name, therefore it is the most important letter in the alphabet, at least according to him. I told him we should play with the other letters, too, but in the beginning he was all about the B. This prompted me to steal the A and give Dom the D, since first letters to names are worth snatching. Eventually he gave up his B for some other letters and we put our letters down, too.
I am a sucker for a toy that is fun, inclusive for alone play or group play, and that promotes learning. This, in a nutshell, is what Melissa and Doug offer with this puzzle. I absolutely love the design and the adorable block letters. More importantly, Lil B had a blast. He sat, parked on the floor for at least an hour playing with the blocks, trying to make words, and fitting the letters into their spots. He had a great time and has played with it quite a few times since the first day that we opened this.
Moms on a budget will appreciate the Melissa and Doug Chunky Puzzles because they are made well and are inexpensive. The ABC Chunky Puzzle retails on the Melissa and Doug website for $19.99. This is not a bad deal for a puzzle that could easily go through a couple (or more) kids before it heads into retirement. You can pick these up straight from the website and have them shipped right to your door.
Lil B isn’t normally much of a puzzle guy. He’s more active and likes rough and tumble toys. Still, he truly enjoyed the ABC Chunky Puzzle. He’s not one to pick up a toy more than once if he doesn’t like it. Not only that, he certainly doesn’t play with it for over an hour if it doesn’t interest him. He’s the kind of kid that will toss it to the side and ask for something new instead.
I can’t say that I blame him. I would do the same thing too. Luckily with Melissa and Doug’s ABC Puzzle we didn’t have to do that. We had a great time playing with it, learned some words, made some new ones, and even had a contest seeing who could put the puzzle back together fastest. Of course, he beat me, which he loved.
For now, we will just keep it between us that I let him win. He’s so proud that he did, it made him want to learn more, so he could beat me at more things and that’s the most important part. Besides, the kisses I got for being sad when I lost made it all worthwhile.
Technorati Tags: Melissa and Doug, ABC Chunky Puzzle, Birthday, Review, Toy, Puzzle, ABCs, Learning, Chunky Puzzle
Written by Ashtyn Evans - Visit Website
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Ashtyn lives in her home state of Michigan with her life partner, Dominick, her 14 year old son, and her baby, the Shih-Tzu, Oliver Twist. Ashtyn is in college, going for a degree in Criminal Justice. She eventually plans to intern with the FBI, if she can. Ashtyn is an experienced and talented chef. She also excels at writing and has worked as a professional writer for the past five years. Ashtyn enjoys spending time with her son and four year old nephew, watching movies, listening to music, and writing works of fiction.
