Manufacturer: Melissa and Doug Find all Melissa and Doug reviews Model#: .47 Weight: 1.55lbs Height: 18"     Width: 11.50" Length: .50" Average Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars	Retail Price: $16.99 Online Price: $9.99 A discount of $7.00! * Price is subject to change.
Features: Upper and Lower Case Letter Puzzle Learn your ABC's Pictures under pieces Recommended Age Range 4 Years and up

User Submitted Melissa and Doug Upper & Lower Case Alphabet Reviews (cont...)

This puzzle can be made the traditional way or it can be used as a moveable alphabet. A moveable alphabet is a name for little letters that kids can manipulate on their own. Moveable alphabets are used in Montessori schools and other schools. After buying an expensive moveable alphabet of only lowercase letters (that is all that is available from that other manufacturer) I realized I could have bought multiple sets of this puzzle and use them in the same way. A moveable alphabet is used in freeform activities with your child to teach letter recognition. It is a tactile exercise as the child is holding the letter and moving it, rather than it being a little mark of ink on a page. You or the child can also form words with the letters and sound them out and read them as a way to supplement teaching reading. (Multiple puzzles would be needed so that there are more than one letter each.) My children hold up the letters and ask me which it is and we play games like that, that either they or I invent.

This puzzle is very durable as are all the other wood puzzles from this company.

The only downside is that organization is key if you want to not lose any of the pieces. This is too large for the puzzle holder that this company sells. Also beware the L's and I's are quite small and definately are choking hazard sized..so if you have little ones, take care to keep this out of their reach.

I think this is an inexpensive learning tool that every child should own. Please buy this for your child or give it as a gift to other children.

The puzzle doesn't have fancy graphics or bells and whistles to entertain. Games could be made up by the parent working alongside the child to make this interesting.

Date: 2002-08-29
Great opportunities
In this puzzle and in reality, there are strong similarities in
a, p, q, b, and d. This puzzle gives great opportunities for fine tuning similarities differences skills. Since you only have one of each letter, trace or print the following. p p q p then b d b b and so forth. Let children practice noticing the differences and similarities. Learning Abilities Books is a cool website with free information about similarities and differences training. That's where I got this idea. You might want to buy more than one of this cool puzzle.

Date: 2002-05-27
Bam-Bam Loves Wooden Letters
My son os NOT gentle with toys and he's clumsy to boot but this toy has survived admirably.

Lights, Camera, Interaction makes wonderfully well-built toys with quality finish work and appealing colors. This alphabet set is no exception. It has the decided benefit of having upper- and lower-case letters. Little did I realize this benefit until my son was "interviewed" for pre-school. Because he could distinguish both sets he will now get to work with a classroom aid on pre-reading skills.

One caution: My son was never one to put toys in his mouth so I got him this toy WAY before he'll turn 3. While the letters aren't inordinately small, parents should call Lights, Camera, Interaction to get the dimensions of the smallest letters to ensure the toy is appropriate for their child. An ounce of prevention, you know.....

Date: 2002-01-24
Great puzzle
It is so wonderful to have an alphabet puzzle that pairs lower and uppercase letters. Great for kids who need a little more challenge. They learn to associate letters with "baby" ones. Wonderful! So many toys underestimate preschoolers' abilities with overly simple formats. This one is just right for young puzzle lovers.