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As Erin gets older she looks for toys that push her more and toys that make her think about what she needs to do. Puzzles are a great way to encourage children to think about problem solving and sequences. We were recently sent a couple of really different puzzles from Hape for Erin to try!
Spinning Balloons Puzzle
Hape’s puzzles come in different levels and are aimed at different ages. The Spinning Balloons Puzzle is a level 4 puzzles and is aimed at children aged 3 and up.
This style of puzzle is really fun and different and I haven’t seen anything like it before. The 5 hot air balloons are really bright and colourful and they all also have a different pattern on them. The reason why this puzzle is different is because the middles of each balloon can also be used as spinning tops so they have a small handle on them.
After all of the pieces have been taken out you will find a printed version of the picture underneath. I found that this really helped Erin to figure out where the pieces were supposed to go as I think she would have struggled a bit otherwise. The puzzle has a nice mix of large and small pieces and with only 6 main pieces and then the spinning tops, it’s a puzzle that won’t take too long to do.
The spinning tops are a great addition to the puzzle and I think they really give it that something a bit extra special. Having a toy that can be played with in multiple ways makes it better value for money and also longer lasting. After Erin has finished the puzzle, or before she puts those final pieces back in, she can play a bit with the spinning tops!
Jobs Roundabout Puzzle
The Jobs Roundabout Puzzle is a level 5 Hape puzzle and it is aimed at children aged 4 and up. Erin is 3.5 so not quite at the recommended age for this puzzle but I was confident that she would be able to figure out what to do with some help anyway.
The Jobs Roundabout Puzzle is a double sided puzzle. On the blue side there are places where people might work, such as a school or the fire station. There are 3 circular layers to put together with the outer 2 being the building and the inner circle being transport to match the building. Erin really likes having a visual aid to help her put puzzles together and this one comes with a print out with the picture of each puzzle on so that you have something to follow if you want to.
The puzzle is really bright and colourful and there’s so much to look at while it’s being put together. Each layer of the puzzle has a piece with a hole in so it can be turned around to line everything up. I think this is a really fun way to do a puzzle because it matters less if you get something a bit wrong to start with. Erin really enjoys looking at all of the different people and what they are doing on the blue side of the puzzle.
The pink side of the puzzle shows the people that work in the places on the other side. Again, it is made up of the three layers with a hole in 1 piece on each so that it can be turned around. Something I love about this puzzle is that it hasn’t been done with stereotypical roles. There is a really nice mix of male and female characters doing different jobs and that was something Erin picked up on immediately. It’s important to teach our children that they can be whatever they want and this puzzle is a good way of showing some different examples.
Both of these Hape puzzles are a lot of fun and designed to not only be fun but educational for the child as well. Erin will get a lot out of both of these for some time to come!
The Spinning Balloons Puzzle is available to buy online for £15.60 from Yes Bebe
The Hape Jobs Roundabout is available to buy online for £9.60 from YesBebe.
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These are really nice, they are great for encouraging motor skills and Jasmine loves them!
What lovely puzzles. I’ve not seen anything like them. Much more fun than the traditional puzzle.
Hope Erin gets lots of fun out of these x
We love Hape toys – have had many over the years. Alas my children too old now
We had lots of these wooden puzzles when the kids were small and they loved doing them. They are lovely and colourful with fab pictures which helps keep the kids concentration.
We love puzzles in my home and agree with you, they help them with problem solving
These are gorgeous! I love wooden toys. I especially love the round one.
These look super and really detailed! I love wooden toys, they seem so much more special than plastic!
I’ve not seen children’s puzzles like this before. They are both lovely toys and puzzles are a great way for kids to stretch themselves a little bit further
I really like Hape toys, we have some rattles from them! Love the jobs roundabout puzzle.