Melissa & Doug Wooden Underwater Jigsaw

As a pediatric speech language pathologist and a mom of 2 littles, I have a great love for Melissa and Doug, especially the puzzles. I introduced this to my toddler around the age of 2 (24 months) and he required some help with it mostly due to the unique shapes of the pieces. This is definitely not a problem as the concept of the puzzle (having something to play with after the puzzle is together) keeps him motivated to keep trying. Pros + Quality and durability. The pieces are wooden and very durable, they have no bend to them, and the image part of the wood is affixed to the wood very well. No peeling images! + Pieces for together well + Unique shapes pieces makes for the next step of puzzles. See picture for sizes and shapes of pieces in comparison to my hand + The wooden border on the backing of the puzzle board is very nice + Vivid coloring + Variety of sea life- great for talking more in depth about sea animals. + The completed puzzle is also a toy in itself- twisting the gears is like a reward for completing the puzzle + Can be a great quiet time activity Cons - the gear pieces do attach easily but you sometimes have to twist some of the other gears to get them all to interlock. This is not a true con as it's the nature of gears. Age range I introduced this at 24 months and it required a lot of prompting to complete with a toddler who really enjoys basic jigsaw puzzles- I would say "next we need a piece with a ____" to help him locate the next pieces. When it comes to the gear pieces in the middle, they need to be inserted in a more logical fashion (put piece with hole that goes in part sticking up from puzzle back, spin the other gear pieces around so they interlock). These are not cons by any means and my toddler started completing this more independently after a handful of completions. So with that being said, I have introduced this puzzle in therapy sessions with kids ages 2.5-5 and it's been a hit. I am a big Melissa and Doug fan; this puzzle checked the boxes for the quality, creativity and durability that I expect from the brand. I paid less than $10 around a prime day deal, to me it was well worth the price. Additional activities: - We match sea animal figures that we have to the puzzles - to stretch the length of the activity, I sometimes put the pieces in a sensory box with rice, beans, or cotton balls for my child to find the pieces one by one - play a modified version of I spy while finding the pieces (I spy something that is big/tiny/pink/loud/jumpy) - try to draw/copy the animals that are in the puzzle