Fun with puzzles

My baby girl turned three years old while we camped among a thick smog of pollen. We spent most of our time outside, but Saturday night was rough for us, so I broke out my last surprise: the puzzle.

As I suspected, she was immediately transfixed by it. She dumped the blocks out of the wooden case and asked Javi to help her "build a pig." After the pig, she wanted the chicken and then the sheep. She'd sing Old MacDonald and make animal sounds while watching Javi or me work through each picture cube by cube.

That's right. She watched us. Unfortunately, I was a little too ambitious with this one. Bella loves puzzles and will spend an hour piecing together the six 24-piece flat ones. I just knew she'd love doing the cube one, too; however, it's just too difficult for my just-turned-three year old.

You know who loved it? Our friend's six-year-old nephew. He sat down with a look of extreme concentration and deftly turned and adjusted and worked his way from one corner to the next. The first time was difficult for him, but after I showed him how to get his outline together, the rest was easy. I definitely think this is a great puzzle for the 4-6 year old age group.

That's not to say that Bella hasn't had fun with it. She loves finding the colors I ask her to search for and she's made an X, a robot, a train, and a snake out of the cubes. She also enjoys dumping the cubes so that she can put them back the way she wants. I actually think this is a step in the right direction. Once she's comfortable with the cubes and commits the colors and patterns to memory, I think she'll be more patient and willing to take the time to figure it out.

While I'm happy with the puzzle on the whole, it's not as perfect as I thought it'd be. For example, in addition to being a little age inappropriate, there's no way to look at a picture of the puzzle as you're putting it together -- which makes it even harder for little minds and fingers. It also doesn't have a closing case, so I'm worried the blocks will get lost. I'm surprised Melissa & Doug didn't think these things through, considering the high quality and thoughtfulness I've come to expect from the company.

We'll be adding this puzzle to our puzzle basket, even though it's not as perfect as I thought it'd be. You can add it to yours, too. CSN stores have agreed to send this puzzle to one of my readers (and their shipping is super fast). Here's how to win it:

1. Go look at all the cool stuff they offer for kids.

2. Come back here and leave a comment telling me what you like best.

3. Follow my blog.

4. Spread the word (with a link back here) about this giveaway via your blog, Twitter, or Facebook. Leave an additional comment letting me know which you did. You can use this if you aren't sure what to say: "Free and educational? Count me in! @millermix and CSN are giving away a Melissa & Doug farm cube puzzle. Enter at http://bit.ly/a5LxMP"

5. Earn additional entries by hitting all three (just make sure you leave a separate comment for each).

This giveaway will end at 10 pm on Monday, April 12. Thanks to CSN for allowing me to share the fun!