Melissa and Doug Alphabet Train Floor Puzzle 36 Months - 6 Years by Melissa & Doug List Price: $11.99 $11.96 At Amazon on 7-28-2008.

Features This large and colorful puzzle features 27 extra-thick pieces to make building it easy and fun Floor puzzle is 10 feet long Helps develop matching skills Easy-clean surface keeps puzzle looking new Recommended Age Range 3 Years and up Manufacturer Description All aboard the Alphabet Train! This large and colorful puzzle features 27 extra-thick pieces to make building it easy and fun. Easy-clean surface keeps puzzle looking new. 10 feet long! Product Description This Alphabet Train puzzle includes 28 extra thick pieces to keep your little one engaged and learning. The self-correcting pieces make learning the alphabet easy and fun. Measures 120" long. Owner Reviews, Ratings, Comments and Criticism Durability: Fun: Educational: Typical of this manufacturer, the graphics are high quality and the cardboard is thick and durable. The cuts on the puzzle are divided so that one piece is one train car. (Other puzzles by other manufacturers can be put together without ever knowing or dealing with the alphabet.) The only way to construct this puzzle is to know the proper order of the English alphabet and attach them in that manner. Each piece contains both the upper and lower case letter and an illustration to go along with that letter. My son began playing with this when he was three and did not yet know the letters by sight. He did know the alphabet song. I found the way to play this with the least frustration and the most educational value is for me to play alongside him. I let him piece them together until he asks for help (before he is angry). We sing the alphabet song together to find the next letter in the alphabet. If he doesn't know it by sight he asks for help and I give phonetic clues such as "G makes a sound like "gg", what do you see that starts off like that sound" at which point he finds the goldfish. One complaint though is that the goldfish is sometimes mistaken for just a fish and the F. I wish something more blatantly "g" was chosen for that one. We progress in this manner until it is done. I feel this has helped him learn the letters by their sight. The appeal for my son was that this is a train related toy. Learning the alphabet was a byproduct that he was not aware was actually my key motive in buying this. I also appreciate both upper and lower case letters being shown as sometimes alphabet toys and activities use just one or the other. If you like this type of learning activity I'd also suggest the numbers puzzle by this same manufacturer to help learn the numbers by sight. Comment | Permalink | (Report this) Melissa and Doug Alphabet Train Floor Puzzle Available from Amazon Updated on 7-28-2008.

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