Dinosaur Alphabet Puzzle

Details

This stegosaurus is dino-might! Little paleontologists will engage with the most colorful stegosaurus on the block. A multiple award winner, this dinosaur is cut in chunky 1-inch puzzle pieces for easy-breezy handling by little hands.

Surprise! It's also an alphabet learning toy. The pieces display upper-case alphabet letters on one side and lower-case alphabet letters on the other.

Completed, this strong and rigid dinosaur becomes a toy for imagination and storytelling. The beechwood tray flips over to become a stand. Watch your child beam with pride when their completed puzzle becomes a standing stegosaurus on display.

Eco-Friendly Manufacturing
Size: 15.5" x 6.75" x 1"
Age Range: 3-6 years
Awards & Recognitions:

Parents' Choice Recommended Award 2013

Oppenheim Best Toy Platinum Award 2015

Developmental Value

Early reading skills begin with recognizing alphabet letters. Exposure to both upper and lower-case letters will create awareness. Over time, children will become aware of the alphabet order. Adults can guide learning by offering the alphabet sounds. Later, adults can use the pieces to spell out simple words 'c-a-t' or 'b-a-t'.

Puzzles are a problem solving activity developing cross-brain thinking skills. Effective problem solving requires a mixture of both logic (left-brain activity) and creative (right-brain activity) thinking. Good problem solvers switch from one set of skills to the other. This is not always easy but becomes easier with problem-solving practice.

Logic (analytic) thinking develops through ordering the pieces, comparing them, contrasting them, evaluating them and selecting the correct piece. The child must select the best alternative from the options available by narrowing down the range of possibilities.
Creative thinking is developed when a piece doesn't fit because the child must consider a broader set of solving options such as manipulating the piece, flipping the piece, considering the alphabet order, or solving surrounding pieces.

Puzzle play requires visual spatial relationship reasoning. This is a problem-solving skill of how a piece relates to adjoining pieces. Spatial awareness is critical to fundamental mathematics comprehension.

Puzzles build attention span. They require concentration for completion. The key for the adult is finding the sweet spot of difficulty. If a puzzle is too easy, it requires little concentration. If it is too hard, the puzzle becomes a source of frustration. If it doesn't feel like play, the positive learning experience shuts down.

Puzzles become an opportunity for relationship building, when adults provide encouragement and support.

3 and 4 year-olds can start with this puzzle by sorting the pieces into colors, learning the alphabet as they go.

The puzzle parts are large and chunky supporting the clutching and manipulating of pieces. This supports the development of fine motor skill.

As a completed puzzle, the rigid dinosaur becomes a toy for imagination and storytelling.

Because there is a carrying tray, this puzzle becomes a travel toy for activities away from home. For homes who focus on Montessori shelving with work options, this puzzle sits orderly in its box.

Manufacturer

Located in Fort Collins, Colorado, BeginAgain believes in hands-on experiential toys, devoid of batteries. BeginAgain also has a strong commitment to eco-friendly products. Their entire line of products is made from plant-based materials. Any plastic, such as packaging, is 100% recycled. This durable wooden puzzle is handcrafted from sustainable plantation-grown rubberwood trees. BeginAgain chooses to use rubberwood (hevea brasiliensis) because it grows quickly. As it is a strong, sustainably grown hardwood, it is an excellent material for making heirloom quality toys.

The puzzle was designed in Fort Collins, Colorado. Manufacturing in China, near the native source of the wood, allows for smarter, more efficient use of energy, reducing the shipping footprint. The puzzles are packaged back in the USA, ensuring quality control. The manufacturing partner is female owned and family run. The factory believes in the principles of fair living wages and sustainable practices. Independent audits ensure fair working conditions, product safety and quality control standards.

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