Match It! Spelling by the Learning Journey is a new find in our household. However, it has been around for a few years. So it is one of those ‘new to us’ kind of things, and it may be new to you too. So I wanted to share the find. It is a box filled with 20 self-correcting puzzles. Ten of them are three letter puzzles and ten are four letter puzzles.
It has a variety of play factors. For younger children, like my 13 month old, you can have the pieces put together and study the pictures with them. For a toddler, you could tell your child to point out the cow or shoe, and then ask them if it makes noise, or what do you do with it. Have them point to the letter S or the letter C in the word. Point to the square windows on the bus or the circles for the wheels. For preschoolers, like my 3 year old, they can start to put the pieces together, which is a learning opportunity about connections, and how things fit together. Lastly, you can focus on the spelling. As the pieces come together, see how C + O + W spells the word Cow. For older children, you can even have them find segments that have associations. For example, put together a puzzle set with a ball and a shoe, since a shoe kicks a ball. Or things that begin with the same letter, like C for Cow and C for Cake.
There are plenty of things you can do with this product, with a wide age range for various children. This can be a valuable aid for children on the autism spectrum, or a great find for a daycare or playgroup setting, as well as for the various age ranges in your own household. It is also great for back-to-school preparations! You can find it on Amazon.com.
Charlene writes at CharleneChronicles.com and Metrowest-Mamas.com. She is also one of the Toy Insider 2013 Parent Panelists.
