Loving this puzzle!!

This is my first opportunity to review for Timberdoodle, a great company that offers and amazing assortment of educational products, curricula, toys and books!


What We Reviewed:

Today I'm reviewing a product from the famous Lauri company, their A to Z Puzzle, lowercase. I've secretly been eyeing this puzzle since I first saw it as part of package deal for a different curriculum company. Getting the opportunity to review it now is so great! This puzzle is a part of Timberdoodle's Toddler Core Curriculum package but can be purchased separately for $8.95.


What We Think:
Upon opening the puzzle the high quality is easy to detect. This Lauri puzzle is made of a sturdy foam material, it's not flimsy or cheap at all! The puzzle is set in a tray (something that I was surprised about) with a puzzle size card between the two that has pictures of items that begin with each letter of the alphabet. The point is to have the children pull off the abc pieces and see what is underneath and figure out the sound of the letter. Simple phonics review.

Many of the pictures are common I just wish that for the vowels they could have either added two smaller pictures, one with the long sound and one with the short or just go with the short. It's more common in my opinion. The 'A' for example has an acorn. Not bad but when little ones are beginning to read the most common sound learned is 'a' as in apple.

The abc pieces are very sturdy as stated before but were a wee bit hard to get out of the foam frame. My Littlest, 2.5 had a hard time doing this on her own. Nonetheless she loves it!! Check her out in the video.

How We Used It:
Having said all of that I have to say that all of my children LOVE this puzzle! Especially my 5 and 2.5 year olds. We used this puzzle in a variety of ways:

1. As just a puzzle, figuring out where all the pieces go.
2. As a tool to practice letter sounds.
3. As a penmanship tool-tracing the foam pieces and the empty shapes on the foam.
4. As a way to practice spelling three letter words.

Do you see how versatile this puzzle is! I'm sure there are plenty of other ways to use it that we will be sure to find out as time passes. This puzzle is destined to become a much used and loved item for our Pre-School/Kindergarten stages!

**As a caution, the dots on the letters can pose a choking hazard so those should be removed when young children are playing with the puzzle.**

I also received Timberdoodle's Core Curriculum for Toddlers planning folder. This little packet is really quite cool! It contains the following to keep you organized and on top of your toddler's learning experiences:

• a list of everything included in the Toddler Core Curriculum package
• an introduction to give you ideas on how to get started
• descriptions of each item in the curriculum, reasons why it has been included and ideas for using each item
• a checklist to keep track of what you have done with your little one each day of the week
• suggestions on other items you might enjoy using with your child
• there is also several articles that are helpful for anyone homeschooling with a toddler in tow

Timberdoodle has really thought of everything! This is a great tool to have on hand!

Here are some helpful links for ya:

Free Homeschool Catalog

http://www.timberdoodle.com/Articles.asp?ID=139

Homeschool supplies or homeschool curriculum

http://www.timberdoodle.com

Complete Curriculum Packages

http://www.timberdoodle.com/Complete_Homeschool_Curriculum_Packages_s/363.htm

Timberdoodle on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/timberdoodle

Disclaimer-As a member of Timberdoodle's Blogger Review Team, I received this puzzle for free in exchange for my honest opinion. All thoughts shared are expressly those of the staff and students at Ruby Slippers School. Thanks Timberdoodle!!!

Lovin' Learnin'