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ELC Dinosaur Puzzles
by Lools_24 My twin boys are puzzle mad and if I'm honest I can't help myself but treat them to puzzles especially when I visit ELC and see that there is a sale on. So during a half price toy sale I noticed that not only were the mini puzzle sets which my boys love were down to half price, there was also a set reduced that we did not have in our ... collection. So I found myself buying the ELC Dinosaur Puzzles. ***ELC Dinosaur Puzzles*** The ELC Dinosaur Puzzles are a collection of six two piece dinosaur themed puzzles which come in a small storage box. Each of the six puzzles consist of two pieces which slot together to show the image of a different Dinosaur. As someone who is not really a dinosaur expert the only way I can differentiate between the puzzles is by colour and the six puzzles include a yellow, blue, brown, green, purple and pink dinosaur on them. The puzzles all vary in shape but are around 8cm by 8cm in size. All of the puzzles are made from a hard durable cardboard with a shiny coating that you can wipe clean. The puzzles come in a small rectangular cardboard box with a carry handle so you can store all of the six puzzles together when not in use. ELC state that the Dinosaur Puzzles are suitable for children from 18 months old. The RRP of the ELC Dinosaur Puzzles is £6.00 and are available from ELC stores and the ELC website. However I purchased these puzzles during a half price toy sale for £3.00 which I feel is excellent value considering the amount of play and enjoyment my boys have got from these puzzles. ***Our Experience*** Like many other of the mini puzzle sets from ELC the Dinosaur puzzles come in a small rectangular box with string handle which my boys take great pleasure in carrying around like a handbag. Aside from using as a handbag the boxes are very handy for using as a storage box so you can keep all of the puzzle pieces from the set together, particularly useful if you own a number of these puzzle sets. I would say that you do need to take care with the box however as although it is made from quite hard durable cardboard if your child tries to sit on the box (like my boys have) they will bend out of shape and this could ruin the box. My boys were around 21 months old when I bought the ELC Dinosaur Puzzles for them to play with. The Dinosaur puzzles are recommended from 18 months and over and personally I feel my boys would have got more benefit and enjoyment from these puzzles if I had bought them this set when they were slightly younger. At 21 months my boys had been playing with the ELC mini puzzle sets for a number of months and in terms of puzzles I do feel developmentally they were quite competent as we have so many for them to play with. As a result after playing with for a month or so they were no longer challenged and entertained for as long by these puzzles and by the time that they reached two years old I do feel the two piece Dinosaur Puzzles were a little too simple for them and they preferred the mini puzzle sets that had three pieces to put together. When I play with puzzles of this type with my boys I tend to put the puzzles together first so they know what the images on the front of the puzzles are then break up the pieces for them to match up. I have stopped doing this with the Dinosaur puzzles to challenge my boys more therefore I do find that they play with this puzzle set a lot more independently as they do not depend on me to help them so much but even so I do think at the age of 2 years old they have slightly outgrown the Dinosaur Puzzles set. As the Dinosaur Puzzle set contains six different Dinosaur themed puzzles I find this great for sharing between my boys so great for those that want to encourage their child to play alongside other children. Even so my boys still want the exact puzzle the other one has but from experience this is the case for everything we own even if I buy two of the exact same toy! Developmentally I think like most of the other mini puzzles the ELC Dinosaur puzzles are very good for encouraging a child's hand eye coordination and for younger children the design of the puzzles and the smooth puzzle shapes are very easy to slot together and then take apart again. The puzzles also help with a child's problem solving skills and because each of the Dinosaur Puzzles are a different colour you can encourage a child to match pieces of the same colour together to make the correct image. With other ELC mini puzzle sets I have found as great ways to encourage a child's speech by getting them to name the object on the puzzle piece they are matching (i.e. farm animals or vehicles) with the Dinosaur puzzles I feel this is a little more difficult and there are less benefits as I'm not really too educated on the different types of dinosaur. Therefore I find myself teaching and talking to my boys about different colours as this is the only real way for a toddler to distinguish between the puzzles and the different dinosaur images. I do find that the ELC Dinosaur puzzles are slightly more durable than many of the other ELC puzzle sets and the puzzle pieces appear to be around 2mm thicker than many of the other pieces from other sets. This makes these puzzles slightly less inclined to bend when stepped on and much harder for a toddler to try and bend. The puzzle pieces are made from a cardboard with a wipe-able coating which is great for removing sticky marks by just using a damp cloth. My boys have attempted to chew on these puzzle pieces which has resulted in lasting teeth-marks on some of the puzzle pieces. ***Overall*** My boys really enjoy playing with the ELC Dinosaur Puzzles and for £3.00 I think they have been another excellent value puzzle set from ELC. We own a number of ELC puzzle sets and from the range on offer which includes farm animal, vehicles I would probably say that if I had a choice the Dinosaur Puzzles are in my opinion not one of the better sets from the range. I think I say this because there are less learning benefits associated with these puzzles than the other sets from the range. The six different puzzles can be differentiated by colours therefore you can ask your child to talk about the different colours to encourage their speech however I don't feel in terms of speech development and interaction the Dinosaur Puzzles are as good as the Farm Animal set for example. The ELC Dinosaur Puzzles are however fun puzzles for children to play with and the benefit of there being six mini two piece puzzles are that there are enough puzzles for two children to play together with therefore this helps to encourage sharing. The two piece puzzles have bright attractive dinosaur images on and are well made and easy for a child to slot the pieces together. These puzzles are also a lot more durable and ever so slightly thicker than the puzzle sets from ELC aimed at children from 2 years old meaning that the pieces are less likely to bend if stood on. My only real criticism of these as puzzles is that they are quite easy and less challenging for children who are competent with puzzles therefore I would probably recommend buying for children aged between 15 months and 2 years old to get the full benefit from these before they look for more challenging puzzles with more pieces. Read the complete review |
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ELC Vehicle Puzzles
by Lools_24 As I have mentioned in previous reviews, my twin boys love playing with puzzles and I find they are a great little gift to buy for them on rainy days or when I want to treat them without spending a lot of money on toys. One problem I do have is that at two years old my boys do not like sharing so if I buy puzzles I generally have to buy ... a puzzle each. So during the October half term sale in ELC there were a number of puzzles reduced and one of the sets I purchased was the ELC Vehicle Puzzles. ***ELC Vehicle Puzzles*** The ELC Vehicle Puzzles are a collection of four three piece vehicle themed puzzles which come in a small storage box. Each of the four mini puzzles consists of three pieces which slot together to show a brightly coloured illustrated picture of a vehicle with a cartoon person inside of each vehicle. The four vehicles include a bus, boat, car and plane. The puzzles all vary in shape as they make up a rounded vehicle shape but are all no longer than 10cm long and 8cm high. The puzzles are made from a hard durable cardboard with a shiny wipe-able coating and the four puzzles come in a rectangular cardboard storage box which has a string carry handle. ELC state the Vehicle puzzles are suitable for children from aged 2 years old. The RRP for the vehicle puzzles is £6.00 however ELC often have price reductions on this puzzle set. I bought these during a half price toy sale. At £3.00 I feel this is excellent value especially considering the quality of the puzzles and the amount of play and enjoyment my sons have got out of these products. ***Our Experience*** ***Our Experience*** The ELC Vehicle Puzzles come in a small rectangular cardboard box which also acts as a storage box as the box comes with a string handle so a child can carry the box around. To open the box you simply remove three small stickers and the lid of the box opens. The lid can then be opened and shut by pushing the slots of the lid down into the box so it stays shut. I would say that you do need to take care with the box however as although it is made from quite hard durable cardboard if your child tries to sit on the box (like my boys have) they will bend out of shape and this could ruin the box. My boys were around 20 months old when they were first given the ELC Vehicle Puzzles to play with. This was younger than the recommended age of two years old however my boys at 20 months were competent at completing puzzles and had developed very good hand eye coordination. When I play with these types of puzzles with my boys what I tend to do is ensure they see what the mini puzzles look like and what image they show when all slotted together then mix up the pieces for them to play with. With some of the simple two piece type mini puzzles my boys found very easy and by 2 years old these are less of a challenge. With the ELC Vehicle Puzzles being 3 piece puzzles I do find that now at just over 2 years old they still are challenged by these puzzles as each mini puzzle takes slightly longer and more thought to complete. When they first started playing with these puzzles at 20 months old they did require a lot more guidance from me and they probably were less independent during playtime however at 2 years old they can play independently with the Vehicle Puzzles. I generally like the ELC mini puzzle range as each set consists of a number of mini puzzles which can be shared between my boys. One disadvantage of the ELC Vehicle Puzzles are that the set only includes four mini puzzles unlike some of the other sets which include six puzzles which I find more of an issue when sharing between two children but the set still can be played with by more than one child. Developmentally I feel the ELC Vehicle Puzzles are great for encouraging a child's motor skills alongside problem solving skills. I think because the puzzles require a child to slot three pieces of puzzle together these puzzles are better suited to extend a child's skills and challenge them rather than introduce them to the puzzle concept. Certain puzzles we own only require my boys to slot two pieces together which I feel at two years old are quite basic and a benefit of the Vehicle Puzzles consisting of three pieces means that they are still challenged and entertained by these puzzles. There are definite benefits for speech development with the Vehicle Puzzles. My boys by 22 months old were able to name and point to each of the four different vehicles. I do feel the puzzles are unisex and personally feel they are suitable for boys and girls however I do find from my own personal experience as a mum of two boys that these are particularly attractive puzzles to boys that like cars and trucks. I bought these puzzles when my boys were 20 months old as I actually did not realise that the puzzles were suitable from 2 years old and assumed they were the same as other mini puzzle collections from ELC which are from 18 months old. This is before the recommended age of 2 years old but I do feel my boys' motor skills and coordination was developed enough to play with these puzzles and I also feel that they had played with enough puzzles to understand the overall concept. Unlike many of the other ELC mini puzzles because the Vehicle Puzzles consist of three pieces putting the puzzles together are a little more complex than the standard two piece mini puzzles. My boys at 20 months did not find these too complex and get frustrated but I do feel for a child under 2 years old they will require slightly more guidance when putting the puzzle pieces together. My boys by two years old fully understand the concept of these puzzles and how to match the three pieces of each of the four puzzles together but still are challenged by these three piece puzzles. With two piece puzzles I find that they are not entertained for as long and I feel by two and a half years old two piece puzzles will be far too basic. Therefore I think the ELC Vehicle puzzles are a lot more challenging as they consist of three pieces and therefore will be suitable and entertaining for a child of up to three years old. We have a number of mini puzzles from ELC in our collection which are made from a hard durable cardboard with wipe-able coating. Generally these types of puzzles are not as hardwearing or durable as the wooden puzzles that we own and a child could potentially bend the cardboard puzzle pieces if they were to use considerable force. I have noticed that the ELC Vehicle Puzzles are around 2mm thinner than some of the other ELC puzzles making them less hardwearing and easier to bend. My boys do not tend to purposely bend the puzzle pieces (yet!) however if they stand on the puzzle pieces this can cause some damage to the individual pieces and I have noticed on two pieces at least this has happened from the Vehicle Puzzle set. The puzzle pieces are made from a cardboard with a wipe-able coating which is great for removing sticky marks by just using a damp cloth. My boys have attempted to chew on these puzzle pieces which has resulted in lasting teeth-marks on some of the puzzle pieces. ***Overall*** I have bought a number of puzzles from the ELC mini puzzle sets and the ELC Vehicle Puzzles are my boys favourite and I also feel these are one of the better sets from this range. The bright illustrations of the vehicles are very clear and attractive and although suitable for both boys and girls I think they are particularly of interest if you have little boys like I do who love all things vehicle related. The puzzles slot together very well and are slightly more challenging for children over the age of 18 months and up to the age of three years old because each of the mini puzzles consist of three pieces and not just two like many of the ELC puzzle sets do. For £3.00 I think these puzzles are excellent value especially as they come in a rectangular carry/ storage box. My only criticism of these puzzles is that firstly there are only four mini puzzles in this set whereas with some of the other sets you get six puzzles inside. This is not too much of an issue and when my boys individually play with each set they are entertained by the four puzzles but when they share the puzzles from each set it means they only get two puzzles each which often can cause some frustrations. My only other criticism of the ELC Vehicle Puzzles is the cardboard pieces are ever so slightly thinner than many of the other ELC mini puzzle sets. This is only by a matter of mm but this means they are slightly less durable. The puzzles can be wiped and the pieces are difficult to bend however still can bend especially if stood on which happens regularly with toddlers. Another great puzzle set from ELC. Read the complete review |
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Paul Lamond Games Jigsaw Roll
by AlmshoeRachy I quite enjoy doing jigsaws, and living in a flat in London with limited storage space I had a look at the best way to tidily store the half done puzzles. My mum has a jigsaw board which is great, but I wanted something more compact so I chose a Jigsaw Roll. There are quite a few different ones around but they are all pretty much the ... same. I chose one made by Paul Lamond Games as it was one of the cheaper options. It is basically a large piece of felt on which you do the puzzle (for some reason they all seem to be green) with a 'telescopic tube' which the felt is wrapped around. The felt measures 835 x 1270mm and can be used for puzzles of up to 2000 pieces. It may be worth ironing the felt before use to avoid any creases and keep the felt nice and flat for the jigsaw. The telescopic tube means that you can change the size of the roll, so when not being used it is smaller. I have just measured mine and rolled up it measures 400mm in length and has a diameter of 140mm. I store mine under my sofa so it is totally out of the way. When you are doing the puzzle, and decide to put it away for the day, all you need to do is place the tube at one end of the felt mat, roll it up and wrap the elastic band around the tube and fasten with the velcro- simple! Is it any good? It does the job, but it's not perfect. It can be quite difficult to do the puzzle on the felt. It's difficult to move pieces around, it's a pain having to iron it, and the pieces don't always stay in place when you unroll it, but it is compact and easy to store. Is it worth the £9.99 price tag? I would say no! It would be so easy to make your own, just go and buy a piece of felt and find a tube from somewhere. A cardboard roll used for posting things like posters would be ideal. Overall, I prefer the boards, and would purchase on one of these when I have a bigger house but in the meantime I will continue to use my jigsaw roll. Only 3 stars from me. Read the complete review |
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