Back in July Esther and William were given some birthday money from their Great Uncle and Aunt. I decided to use it to buy them some puzzles from Toyjeanius. I chose three puzzles and a wooden shape sorting stacker.

The puzzles, by Djeco, have become firm favourites in our household and make great early morning activities.
We like to spend our puzzle time in the lounge in front of the log fire. It is a lovely way to start the day.
The first puzzle we call the tummy puzzle. The puzzle is made up of 10 animals with circles missing from their tummies’. There are also 10 coloured circles, each of which completes one of the animals.

Tummy Puzzle

Esther and William love matching the tummy to its owner. For some reason the black dog is their favourite animal, I honestly do not know why. This puzzle has helped Esther and William to identify their colours and to think about complimentary colours such as orange and yellow, and purple with pink. It is also teaching them to share and to work together!! This is very important for any toddler but even more so I think when you are a twin.

Tummy Time Together

When Esther and William have finished playing with this puzzle they know to put it away straight away so as not to lose any of the pieces. We put each piece safely back into the box and as we do we say goodbye. Goodbye Owl, goodbye purple tummy. Goodbye Lion, goodbye orange tummy.

Goodbye!

At first they could only complete the puzzle with the aid of an adult but now they can get it out, complete and put it away all on their own. A fantastic value for money present and would make a great Christmas stocking filler.

Adult Aid!

I feel the same about each of the three puzzles actually. They are so simple, so very pretty but also educational and great value for money. They foster independence in very young children and develop their language and social skills. I think they have been a fabulous find for our family.

Miss Independent

The second puzzle, like the first, involves animals with bits missing from their bodies. This time each piece is not only differently coloured but also a different shape. This is another activity that has really helped to develop Esther and William’s vocabulary and their knowledge and understanding linked to shape, colour and pattern. They love this puzzle so much that they are now able to confidently place the octagon in the cows tummy and tell you what the polygon is called! That is good knowledge for any toddler, especially my premmie two year olds! I am one very proud mummy!

Pattern and Shape

Esther and William also make links with this puzzle. For example, they know that the toucan in the puzzle is like one of the birds in the Night Garden. They know that the diamond in the penguin’s tummy is like the kite on their playroom wall. These Djeco puzzles are fun ways to extend toddler learning.

The third puzzle is again about animals and matching. This time you have to match the animal to its home.

Habitats

The horse lives in the stable, the honey bee in a hive. When Esther and William first tried this puzzle back in August it was far too hard for them but now they can do it with ease. They have learned which animal belongs in which home. They can do it on their own!

Home Alone

Well, most of the time they can, when they are not distracted by the car mat!!

We have not been asked to review these puzzles from Djeco and Toyjeanius but with Christmas on the way I thought I would share them with you as they would be perfect stocking fillers for younger toddlers.

Priced at £6.95 they would make great little gifts from Santa too.

Each of the three puzzles is available to buy at www.toyjeanius.co.uk.