Review

My two year old likes five things at the moment: jumping in puddles, doing jigsaw puzzles, reading stories, searching for bugs and eating chocolate. And now it’s possible for her to do three of those things in one game.

The My Bugs game from Gibsons (taken from their My World series) is a brilliant variation on the jigsaw puzzle, perfect for kids my daughter’s age and upwards.

Frog is just learning how to piece jigsaw puzzles together and loves looking at the shapes and patterns to see if they match. But she also enjoys making her own “unique” shapes and regularly has to be reminded not to ram the pieces together if they don’t fit.

That’s not so much of a problem with this lovely puzzle set though. The pieces all come in a selection of fun bug shapes to put together, either to match the colours to make the bugs we all know (and some of us love) or to make new “monsters”.

As a mum constantly on a mission to try and educate my toddler (tell me I’m not the only one) my inner frustrated teacher thoroughly approves of this puzzle.

It gives us the chance to talk about the bugs and practice new vocabulary, chatting about the colours and names of the insects. But it also has lots of potential for more learning, with the opportunity to count the pieces and start to talk about how to spell the names of the bugs when Frog is a bit older.

The phase she’s at now, she likes to piece the bits together, count them and recognise the familiar bugs. But I like that there’s room for her to grow into it too.

As Christmas fast approaches I’m really starting to feel bombarded with a confusing array of products to consider buying for Frog this year. The problem is, I’m not keen on just getting her “stuff” for the sake of it. Everything she will be given will be something clearly thought about and (hopefully) will be something she’ll actually play with – if not now then at a later date.

I think this puzzle is fantastic value for money, because it’s not the kind of game with a limited shelf life. There are so many different opportunities for play and learning that it’s likely to feature on Frog’s favourite list for a long while to come.

And the lefty, recycle-friendly, non-materialistic side of me really rather likes that.

***

The My Bugs puzzle from the My World range by Gibsons Games was provided for the purpose of this review. You can see more products in the range here.