We’re Pleasantly Puzzled
Have I mentioned that my toddler is really bright? (Hey — it’s my blog and I get to brag!) She turned 2 in October and one of her favorite activities is doing puzzles. I saved the wooden puzzles that I had from my older children, and those hand-me-down items include a puzzle of my oldest daughter’s name.
Because of the hundreds of times we’ve “played puzzles,” my toddler can recognize EVERY letter in my 14-year-old’s name. I’m afraid she’s going to have a serious “hand-me-down” complex. Can’t you just hear her whining to her therapist someday, “I didn’t know how to spell my own name until I was 10 because the letters in MY name weren’t in the hand-me-down puzzle I had to use.”
So, I decided it was time for her to have her own name puzzle, and I also wanted to have a full alphabet puzzle because she’s starting to show some real interest in letters (Did I mention that she’s very bright?)
Anyway, one of the problems with letter puzzles is that so many of them have funny-shaped or fancy letters. Those are pretty, but they’re not the best puzzles to use if you want your child to learn his or her letters. However, the educational puzzles from Puzzle Man ARE shaped properly. Plus, the puzzle pieces are thick and the puzzles are sturdy. In fact, they will probably last long enough for my toddler to hand them down to her children someday.
Ed (the puzzle man) and his wife, Suzanne, have been making wooden puzzles and selling them at craft fairs and through the mail for more than 20 years. All of their puzzles are individually hand-crafted with quality and education in mind. They use only the highest quality, furniture grade plywood that is domestically made from replenishable forests. Each puzzle is cut one at a time, then sanded and stained using a non-toxic, water-based stain. The puzzle is sealed with a clear, non-toxic finish so that it is BABY SAFE and may be cleaned using a damp cloth.
Now get this: they offer FREE REPLACEMENT PIECES for all of their puzzles. That’s amazing! All you have to do is send a tracing of the missing space, type of puzzle, color if known, and $1 for shipping.
Their puzzles are more substantial than most you’ll find on the market, and they are stained and not painted, so the color penetrates the wood and won’t chip.
They offer educational puzzles such alphabets, numbers and maps, personalized puzzles, plus a host of other adorable items. Prices start around $20 ($15 for a name puzzle, plus $1 per letter), to up to $65 for a map of France and Italy puzzle. You can order the puzzles here, and if you want to talk to Ed or Suzzanne, call the number on their site and they’ll answer the phone personally!
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