Lower Case Alphabet Puzzles
1. HWM Shop, 2. Tiny Me, 3. TAG Toys, 4. JandPWoodProducts on Etsy and 5. TAG Toys Traceable.
If you are starting to think of gifts for a child around the two to three year range (perhaps even younger) you might consider puzzles and possibly alphabet puzzles. A Montessori child of this age would be learning lower case letters and their sounds before upper case. Which is why for this age I absolutely prefer lower case to upper case letter work. I also believe that an alphabet puzzle is a great material to have in the home to support the work going on in the classroom.
Alphabet puzzles support hand eye coordination and letter recognition. I prefer a basic print font and I am quite picky especially when it comes to the single/double story a's. I avoid puzzles that have the double story 'a' - although most children are adaptable. I like that the letters can be taken out and the child can start to put simple words together (possibly their name) before moving onto the movable alphabet.
In short I really support alphabet puzzles. Due to the number of letters most wooden alphabet puzzles are of a good size and are satisfying work for the child. TAG toys have two featured above (3. and 5.) and are more accessible to those in the US. Puzzles 1. and 2. are from Australia. Puzzle 2. comes with a gorgeous felt cover. If you are looking/considering an uppercase puzzle this one (from Etsy) is handcrafted in various woods and is beautiful (also look for their number puzzle).