I have to say that when my three and a half year old son opened this present on Christmas, I thought it was really a gift for a little baby. But it’s turned into one of his favorite toys.
When he first opened it, putting the puzzle together was a big endeavor that he always asked me to help him with. I don’t know how many times I’ve put this thing together, but I always sit with him a minute and try to think of another angle on the activity. At first, it was putting the numbers face up (they are only printed on one side), then we learned the order. Then I helped him count by repeating the sequence of the numbers, so he could fill in what comes next. We then advanced to number recognition, Greek prefixes (“octo means eight”), and today he surprised me by counting backwards. While he has learned how to count to ten (a not small achievement), I’ve relearned an important lesson on the value of sitting down with your kids and engaging with them even on something as seemingly infantile as this silly puzzle. The Imagiplay Number Snail is $20.
Postscript: my son walked into the room just now, saw this image on my screen, and exclaimed, “That’s my puzzle!”
Tags: Gifts for kids, Owned by GreatDad staff, Toys and Games, Toys that dad will play with too