Our newest treasure is a Melissa & Doug wooden ABC puzzle from Gummy Lump Toys! And the best news? You can win your own choice of wood puzzle from GummyLump.com!
Read on!
Gummy Lump Toys is one of those wonderful online toy companies that carries only toys you'd be
proud to have your children own. The toys are creative and educational and multi-purpose to spark kids' imaginations. They tend to be made from natural and durable materials, mostly wood, and they're the type of toys that win awards for excellence.So when Gummy Lump wrote me and offered me a Melissa & Doug wooden puzzle to review, I jumped at the chance. I have other Melissa & Doug puzzles so knew it was just a matter of choosing the right one to keep Mikko amused.
Boy howdy, did I choose right!
Witness the ABC Peg Puzzle!
N.B. This puzzle has delightful little pegs.
The puzzle builds matching, reading, memory, and manual dexterity skills. That's just from my observations alone!
But don't take my word for it. Here's a video to see my alphabet whiz in action:
You get to hear him want to eat all the food pictures in the puzzle. It seems all virtuous until he clarifies that he wants a Schokolade (chocolate) egg, not one of those regular nutritious ones. You also get to hear him exclaim with unfeigned delight over a W that's actually an M, but who can correct him when he's being such an adora-toddler?
Mikko loves this puzzle. He asks for it by saying he wants to "play letters!" Within a few days, he memorized what picture was under which letter, even though some of them were unfamiliar to him: "insect" for I, "nest" for N, and "yarn" for Y. (Clearly I need to get out my knitting more…)
Chubby starfish hands grasp pegs with ease! I think that should be their advertising copy, don't you?
Is there anything I would change about the puzzle? Well, there's nothing I can't live with. Some of the letters fit a little loosely, so sometimes Mikko thinks a piece is in the wrong space or turned the wrong way when it's not. Some of the images they chose are a little obscure, but that's actually turned out fine, since it's taught Mikko new vocabulary ("jump rope," for instance). The images have to fit within the confines of the letter shape, so some letters were probably easier to match words to than others.
As far as my experience with Gummy Lump Toys, I have nothing but good to say about their fabulous response and shipping times and the great shape the puzzle came in. I even appreciate their story of why they're called Gummy Lump.
We've really been enjoying playing with this puzzle at home and on the go. It's the kind of activity that can entertain a toddler while adults have some conversation time. (No, really! Actual conversation!) The only downside is that the pieces of course end up in a big pile in your bag. Does anyone have a solution to this? One of my favorite Melissa & Doug items is actually their travel puzzle sets for easy transport reasons. And, there are some puzzle storage solutions for keeping puzzles organized at home or school, but what do you do when you travel with puzzles? Seriously, if you leave a good solution, I'll give you an extra entry!
Can you hear him saying "P" for "pear"?
Gummy Lump Toys wants to offer you the chance to win your very own wood puzzle, up to $12. You can choose based on the age and interest of your own kidlet(s).
For instance:
- For babies, there are jumbo knob puzzles that are perfect for palm grasping.
- For toddlers, there are chunky puzzles where the pieces can actually stand up and be played with as little figures!
- For sensory fun, I've gotta say I love the idea of these touch-and-feel puzzles.
- For preschoolers figuring out emotions and storytelling, there are dress-up puzzles.
- For kids like Mikko who love surprises hidden under pieces, there are hide-and-seek puzzles.
- Kids who like making silly pictures would enjoy these mix-and-match peg puzzles.
- For older kids (3 years old on up), there are wooden jigsaw puzzles with 12, 24, or 48 pieces.
- And, not even joking, they have puzzles that play a matching sound when the piece is fit into the right slot.
That's right: The hard part is picking your favorite!
BUY IT!
You can find ours and similar wood puzzles at GummyLump.com for very reasonable prices or on Amazon! For instance, the Melissa & Doug ABC Peg Puzzle I received is currently on sale for only $6.39, and there's a whole (jam-packed!) category of toys under $10.Besides puzzles, Gummy Lump Toys carries all sorts of quality creative and educational toys from respected companies like Melissa & Doug, Guidecraft, Haba, KidKraft, Citiblocs, and more! You can shop by age, category, or brand. The fact that they've subdivided their site into so many helpful categories makes it really easy to find something that suits your kids or a gift recipient.
Gummy Lump offers free U.S. shipping on orders over $75.
WIN IT!
For your own chance to win a wood puzzle from Gummy Lump Toys, up to $12 in current price, enter in the comments below! Contest is open to U.S. only (sorry, my dear international friends — you know I would mail to you if I were doing the mailing).MAIN ENTRY: Head on over to GummyLump.com and tell me what glorious wooden puzzle (up to $12) you would choose!
Leave an email address in at least one of your comments if it's not clearly visible on your profile or linked web page so I can contact you if you win. (You can write it like this to foil spambots: mail (at) hobomama (dot) com or similar.)
BONUS ENTRIES, to increase your chance of winning (leave a separate comment for each so I can count them all):
- Tell me what lovely little one(s) will enjoy this puzzle if you win!
- Tell me what kind of puzzle your little puzzler(s) would prefer (you can see my list above for types such as jumbo knob, chunky, peg, jigsaw, etc.).
- Poke around GummyLump.com and tell me what other toy catches your eye!
- Follow or subscribe to the Gummy Lump blog.
- Follow www.HoboMamaReviews.com publicly through Google Friend Connect, or subscribe to the Hobo Mama Reviews RSS feed in a reader or by email.
- Follow www.HoboMama.com through Google Friend Connect, or subscribe to the Hobo Mama RSS feed in a reader or by email.
- Follow @GummyLump on Twitter and leave your Twitter name in the comment.
- Follow @Hobo_Mama on Twitter and leave your Twitter name in the comment.
- Tweet this giveaway. This may be done once daily for still more entries. Leave the direct URL, which can be found by clicking the time stamp under your Tweet. You can create your own text or copy/paste this: Win your choice of an adorable Melissa & Doug wood puzzle from @GummyLump and @Hobo_Mama! http://bit.ly/9rQ7Yv {5.12}
- Become a fan of Gummy Lump on Facebook.
- Become a fan of Hobo Mama on Facebook.
- Follow Hobo Mama on Networked Blogs on Facebook.
- Enter another of my current giveaways (1 extra entry per giveaway).
- Do something lovely for this post, a post on the Gummy Lump blog, or a post on Hobo Mama (StumbleUpon, Twitter, Facebook, Digg, etc.) and let me know what it was and which post in your comment. There is a Share button below each post on Hobo Mama. You can gain 1 extra entry per share, up to 3 extra entries total.
- Fave me on Technorati and leave your user name.
- Put my Carnival of Natural Parenting button on your website for 2 extra entries. The HTML code is in the sidebar. Leave your site URL in the comment.
- Include this giveaway in a post on your own blog for 3 extra entries. Leave the direct link in your comment. Feel free to use this code or craft your own (and here's a tutorial on pasting html code into a Blogger post and one for WordPress):
<!-- BEGIN CODE --> <center><a href="http://www.gummylump.com/f_product.php?id=1980" target="_blank"><img src="http://images.hobomama.com/a_1980peg-puzzle-see-inside-alphabe.jpg" border="0" alt="Gummy Lump Melissa & Doug alphabet wooden puzzle for toddler -- see inside ABC letters" width="350" height="262"></a></center><p><img src="http://images.hobomama.com/gummy-lump-puzzle-pictures.jpg" border="0" alt="Gummy Lump Melissa &amp; Doug wooden puzzle for toddler ABC letters" align="right" width="250" height="375"><a href="http://www.hobomamareviews.com/2010/04/giveaway-melissa-doug-wooden-puzzle.html" target="_blank"><strong>Hobo Mama Reviews</strong></a> is giving away a <strong>wooden puzzle of your choice</strong> (up to $12) from <a href="http://www.gummylump.com/f_category.php?id=278" target="_blank"><strong>Gummy Lump Toys</strong></a>.</p> <p>Choose <strong>based on your child's age and interests</strong> — jumbo knob puzzles for the littlest tots, chunky puzzles that are sure to delight the terrific twos, or wooden jigsaws for preschoolers on up — in <strong>a variety of themes</strong>, from adorable farm animals to realistic dinosaurs to twirling ballerinas to flashy trucks.</p> <p><strong>Melissa & Doug puzzles</strong> are well-made, colorful, educational, and imaginative, and <strong>GummyLump.com</strong> is an online toy store selling only the best in creative, high-quality toys.</p> <p><strong>Enter at <a href="http://www.hobomamareviews.com/2010/04/giveaway-melissa-doug-wooden-puzzle.html" target="_blank">Hobo Mama Reviews</a> by May 12</strong> for your chance to win!</p> <p><em>Open to U.S. addresses only.</em></p><!-- END CODE -->
It is entirely possible to wear a kicky hat while completing your puzzle.RULES:
- Contest open to U.S. ADDRESSES ONLY. (Sorry, everyone else!) Shipping is by UPS, so a street address is required (no P.O. Boxes).
- Leave each entry as a separate comment so I can count them all.
- For actions like following and subscribing, if you already follow or subscribe, just let me know in your comment.
- For tasks that garner you multiple entries, say something like "I blogged [link here] #1," "I blogged [link here] #2," etc.
- You don't have to do any of the bonus entries, but you do have to complete the first mandatory one.
- I will pick the winner through random.org after the contest closes and send an email notification. Leave an email address in your comment if it's not clearly visible on your profile or linked web page so I can contact you if you win. If I can't reach a winner or don't hear back within a couple days, I'll draw a new name.
- Any questions, let me know: mail {at} HoboMama.com
Contest closes May 12 at 11:59 p.m. PST.
Disclosure: I received a free puzzle from Gummy Lump Toys
for my review but no other compensation.
I try to seek out only products I think you would find
relevant and useful to your life as a natural parent.
If I don't like a product, I won't be recommending it to you.
That's how I roll. See my full disclosure policy here.
for my review but no other compensation.
I try to seek out only products I think you would find
relevant and useful to your life as a natural parent.
If I don't like a product, I won't be recommending it to you.
That's how I roll. See my full disclosure policy here.
Posts
295 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 295 of 295 Newer› Newest»I would choose the counting hands peg puzzle.
hlitrenta at gmail dot com
I would give it to my son to learn about his hands/fingers/counting
hlitrenta at gmail dot com
My 2 year old loves the chunky puzzles!
hlitrenta at gmail dot com
All the Melissa and Doug play food catches my eye!
hlitrenta at gmail dot com
My little girl would love the Farm Sound Puzzle.
Thanks!
tweet http://twitter.com/SnowflakeDay/statuses/13443534910
http://twitter.com/uberabby2/status/13442188825
I would choose the 24 piece Ballerinas and Butterflies Wooden Jigsaw Puzzle by Melissa and Doug. Thanks.
partymix25(at)hotmail(dot)com
The puzzle would be for my niece.
partymix25(at)hotmail(dot)com
Another Gummy Lump toy I like is the Butterfly Tea Set by Schylling Toys.
partymix25(at)hotmail(dot)com
follow Gummy Lump on Twitter, partymix25
partymix25(at)hotmail(dot)com
follow you on Twitter, partymix25
partymix25(at)hotmail(dot)com
tweet http://twitter.com/SnowflakeDay/statuses/13505428438
tweet!
http://twitter.com/uberabby2/status/13520386604
tweet for 5/6...
http://twitter.com/HSBSuzanne/status/13521281114
thanks!
roseinthemorning [at] gmail [dot] com
blogged about the giveaway #2
http://heckofabunch.blogspot.com/2010/05/great-blog-giveaways-80.html
partymix25(at)hotmail(dot)com
tweet http://twitter.com/SnowflakeDay/statuses/13573405929
tweet http://twitter.com/SnowflakeDay/statuses/13623572620
alphabet peg puzszle or the fairytaile castle. :)
I would choose the 48 piece Horse puzzle!
I like the 24 piece beep beep puzzle
samanthamarshall at verizon dot net
My two year old son is loving puzzle right now and would get a kick out of a new one.
samanthamarshall at verizon dot net
http://twitter.com/uberabby2/status/13696267141
I like the beep beep jigsaw puzzle.
I just have 1 entry I forgot my address-
vermonster79(at)yahoo(dot)com
Love the Jumbo Vehicle Knob Puzzle!
sarahwolcheski at yahoo dot com
tweet for 5/9...
http://twitter.com/HSBSuzanne/status/13706250563
roseinthemorning [at] gmail [dot] com
I like the Musical Instruments Sound Puzzle.
lkziegler[at]gmail[dot]com
My son would love this. Anything that is interactive is ok with him.
lkziegler[at]gmail[dot]com
He likes the chunky the best for manipulation.
lkziegler[at]gmail[dot]com
I like the puppet theater there at Gummy Lump
lkziegler[at]gmail[dot]com
tweet for 5/10...
http://twitter.com/HSBSuzanne/status/13738483063
roseinthemorning [at] gmail [dot] com
I like the counting hands.
It would be for my 4 year old, Luke.
tweet: http://twitter.com/SnowflakeDay/statuses/13742926691
My daughter would love the Happy Handle Stamp Set by Melissa & Doug and it's only $7.99 right now!
dixiedotsons(at)hotmail(dot)com
http://twitter.com/uberabby2/status/13758114156
I like the dinosaur chunky puzzle.
stargazer_mg@yahoo.com
My son Damian, 4, would be the lucky boy enjoying this puzzle if I win.
stargazer_mg@yahoo.com
The sound-making puzzles would probably be most interesting to my son.
stargazer_mg@yahoo.com
other toys that caught my eye were the UGLYdolls, so cute!
stargazer_mg@yahoo.com
i follow the gummy lump blog
stargazer_mg@yahoo.com
i follow hobo mama through GFC
stargazer_mg@yahoo.com
i follow hobo mama reviews via GFC
stargazer_mg@yahoo.com
I WAS going to choose the Farm Animals Sound Puzzle but THEN I saw the Shapes Sound Puzzle - what a very very cool way to teach bebes their shapes!!
jewell330 at aim dot com
tweet: http://twitter.com/SnowflakeDay/statuses/13794546027
I would choose the 48 pc. pirate jigsaw puzzle. Thanks for the chanec.
sweetascandy579 at yahoo dot com
tweet for 5/11...
http://twitter.com/HSBSuzanne/status/13809854882
roseinthemorning [at] gmail [dot] com
I would probably pick the
48 pc. Space Voyage Jigsaw Puzzle by Melissa and Doug or the ABC puzzle that you mentioned. Thanks for the opportunity. My e-mail linked in my profile.
My boys would be the ones this is for. The little guy turns 3 Friday.
So many great items on the website. Love all of the Melissa and Doug food items including the Bake & Decorate Cupcake Set.
Follow you on Twitter @TheAngelForever
Follow GummyLump on Twitter @TheAngelForever
Tweet Tweet: http://twitter.com/TheAngelForever/status/13810309033
Fan of GummyLump on Facebook
Fan of yours on Facebook
I like all the hats so many choices and colors. bgary18ATsbcglobal.net
I'd choose the 24 pc African Plains puzzle!
afrugalfriend (at) gmail (dot) com
this would be for my 2 year old daughter! She loves puzzles!
afrugalfriend (at) gmail (dot) com
She would probably enjoy the jigsaw puzzles now.....it would be a challenge.
afrugalfriend (at) gmail (dot) com
I also spied the Melissa & Doug lemonade stand! I can just see my daughter playing with it. Cute!
afrugalfriend (at) gmail (dot) com
follow gummylump on twitter @AFrugalFriend
afrugalfriend (at) gmail (dot) com
follow gummylump on facebook ...debra muccio (A Frugal Friend)
afrugalfriend (at) gmail (dot) com
follow you on twitter @AFrugalFRiend
afrugalfriend (at) gmail (dot) com
follow you on facebook...debra muccio (A Frugal Friend)
afrugalfriend (at) gmail (dot) com
http://twitter.com/uberabby2/status/13821902358
I think Baby would love the dinosaur chunky puzzle!
Carnival of Natural Parenting button entry #1
Carnival of Natural Parenting button entry #2!
I'm a fan of Hobo Mama on facebook!
tweet: http://twitter.com/SnowflakeDay/statuses/13862530159
ms(d0t)verymarried(at)gmail(dot)com
http://www.gummylump.com/f_product.php?id=1817
LOVE this!
ms(d0t)verymarried(at)gmail(dot)com
My brother, Jack, would LOVE this. He's turning 3 in June!
ms(d0t)verymarried(at)gmail(dot)com
I think my brother would like a peg puzzle!
ms(d0t)verymarried(at)gmail(dot)com
http://www.gummylump.com/f_product.php?id=1259
This easel looks wonderful!
I think my daughter would like the Animals Mini-Puzzle Pack by Melissa & Doug
I love the Farm Hide & Seek Peg Puzzle! So fun!
Ok, what if you got a mailing envelope, like the yellow kind with bubble wrap inside, that was a snug fit for the puzzle? Then you could slide it in, transport it, and slide it out and the pieces would be in it still.
Just a thought! :)
Also, I love their puzzle organizing stand! Too clever!
I follow you on Twitter - @babywearingitup
tweet for 5/12...
http://twitter.com/HSBSuzanne/status/13886598273
roseinthemorning [at] gmail [dot] com
I would give this to my middle daughter to play with her children with. She has decided to homeschool, and everything that helps make learning easy and fun will be appreciated!
jewell330 at aim dot com
My favorite item is the Multi-stone & Sterling Silver Necklace!
jewell330 at aim dot com
tweeted:
http://twitter.com/jdeemarie/status/13892332646
jdeemarie @ gmail.com
My son would love the construction chunky puzzle.
candaceotto32 at yahoo dot com
This would be for my son.
He would like the jumbo knob or chunky. We've never tried the jumbo knobs, though.
I like the M&D Standing Easel that Gummy Lump carries.
I follow Hobo Mama Reviews publicly on GFC.
I follow gummy lump on twitter (@caotto7446).
I'd pick the Beep Beep puzzle.
couponboss at gmail dot com
My two boys would love to play with puzzles!
My kiddos would probably like the chunky puzzles or one with knobs.
I love all the pretend kitchen items too. crystalgiles.lmt (at) gmail (dot) com
I subscribe to the hobomama rss feed too!
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