Review: Happyland Puzzles (ELC)

I popped into Mothercare yesterday to buy The Boy a pair of sunglasses (with the band that goes around the back of the head) and ended up spending £56 on toys in the Early Learning Centre department! They've got a brilliant little wheelbarrow at the moment, which he just had to have, and some other things fell into the trolley as I was walking around. (Whoops, don't tell hubby!)

One of the things that I bought is the Happyland Puzzles, which is a set of 6 puzzles for ages 18 months – 3 years.

I'd become very conscious lately that the only puzzles that The Boy ever does is the inlay designs; this is not helping him develop his problem-solving skills that much. I was especially alarmed when a work colleague had told me that her 2½ year old son had just completed a 25-piece jigsaw. I panicked! I don't think that The Boy has managed more than a 2-piece one that I bought him at Christmas and he struggled with then!

[Please note the image shows a tin and the one I bought came in a cardboard box made from 'forest friendly cardboard'. I know which one I prefer]

Why I particularly like this pack is three-fold.

1. It has 6 jigsaws in it, some are 2-piece, some are 3-piece and some are 4-piece. It doesn't follow suit that the hardest one is the 4-piece; I actually think that the hardest one is the 3-piece one because of the angles that it has to join in at. Therefore they are of differentiated ability and challenge. As a teacher, this pleases me.
2. The pictures are of the Happyland range, and we have quite a few of them. Seeing his face earlier as he recognised the merry-go-round was classic. He then upped and pulled open his toybox and yanked it out. He looked back at the picture and even tried to press the button on the jigsaw. The other set that we have that features on the jigsaw is the school, and yes, he tried to open the door on the school and press the bell on the tower.
3. The pieces are nice and chunky, but small enough for little hands. They're also made of FSC mixed sources cardboard.

This jigsaw set is a winner in this household and at only £6 is a bargain as far as I'm concerned.

No, I didn't get the sunglasses, they're not in stock yet.