Today I wanted to talk about the Melissa & Doug Underwater 48-Piece Floor Puzzle because it’s something that both of my girls love, and have loved for a long time.

My oldest daughter has been playing with it for nearly 2 years now, and she still gets excited about it.

As my youngest is only 2 1/2, she still needs some help to put the pieces together {the recommended age is 3+ and she gets so excited that she rushes too much to allow the pieces to fit properly}, but she loves it anyway.

My 4yo can assemble the puzzle on her own, but does ask me to do it with her.  She likes the interaction.

The puzzle is beautiful, as you can see, and large, which makes it especially fascinating for kids.  The pieces are big, which is great for little hands, and that makes the finished puzzle 2 feet by 3 feet.

Here’s what it looks like when it’s finished:

The colors are brilliant and the artwork is quite detailed.

When putting it together, I usually say things like, “here’s a piece of a dolphin,” or “I found part of a jellyfish,” or “this one has a lot of red coral in it.”

The puzzle is really a great way to facilitate conversations about sea life.  It’s nice to do the puzzle and then reminisce about animals we recently saw at a zoo or aquarium or read about in a book.

It’s also a nice addition to lessons about the ocean.  If you’re studying the sea with your Little One, this is a fun way bring the ocean into your home.

Usually I help her separate the outside pieces so that we can construct the frame first.  Next, as you can see in the photo below, she likes to walk around the puzzle, counting the pieces.

Then we fill in the rest.

And by “we,” I mean that I work very slowly, sorting pieces and musing about them while I let her fill it in mostly by herself.

I definitely recommend this puzzle for any kids that love puzzles or sea life.