Excellent for bridging gap between UPPER CASE and lower case

At two and a half years my son had mastered his UPPER CASE letters but was still unfamiliar and a little confused with the lower case letters. After playing with this puzzle for 2 days he was doing his lower case letters like a champ. He absolutely loves this puzzle and takes great pride in completing it "all by himself". I can't recommend this highly enough to parents eager to stimulate their little geniuses.

Some of the letters may be a bit confusing as their shapes are so similar (d,b,p,q) but each set of letters is a different color and my little man caught on to the difference almost immediately. This puzzle isn't quite as well made as some of the other Melissa & Doug puzzles we own but it seems sturdy enough (and toys get quite a beating at our house).

[Monday, December 01, 2008]

Excellent teaching tool for lower and upper case letters!

I purchased this for my then toddler when she was about 2 years old and within a few weeks she was able to identify the upper and lower case letters of the alphabet. We still use it for reinforcing learning [she's 3.5 years old now]. This is a very effective teaching tool for letter recognition as well as identifying upper and lower case letters. Little ones get a sense of achievement when they are able to correctly identify letters of the alphabet and then moving on to mastering the more complex identifying of upper and lower case letters.

Final verdict: fun, engaging and very effective teaching tool [for toddlers-preschoolers].

[Tuesday, November 18, 2008]

Great puzzle for toddlers

I looked all over and this was the only wooden puzzle I could find with both upper and lower case letters. My 1 1/2 yr old daughter originally had a puzzle with just upper case and she learned the letters so quickly I really wanted one that could help her with lower case as well. We have several Melissa & Doug toys and she really loves them and they are well made. My only complaint about this puzzle is that some of the letters are cut in such a way that they can be easily confused. The lower case b, q, and p, as well as the a and d, are almost exactly the same shape, which can be frustrating for kids (and parents). Wish they would have tried to differentiate those a little better, but otherwise it's great.

[Friday, October 24, 2008]

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