Toy Review Tuesday: Alphabet Foam Floor Mat

Foam floor mats come in many colors and varieties. We have the alphabet floor mat. The square pieces are interlocking and the letters pop-out for some puzzle fun.

We don't really use it as a "sit down and put together the puzzle" toy though. We enjoy it as just a floor mat.

Activities We've Liked

Create an infinite path. After I modeled walking/ hopping/ jumping/ naming letters as I randomly stepped on them, I got Matthew's attention. He thought it was pretty funny, giggling the whole time he was walking as fast as he could on the foam letters. Round and round the living room floor around the ottoman.

Create a simple obstacle course. I put a wooden board across one area for Matthew to step on and off it whenever he got to it. We have fun AND work on leg strength at the same time.



Connect all the pieces together to form a giant rectangular mat. Lay a quilt and/or blanket on it. Top with pillows. It makes a comfortable lounging/ play area. Matthew and Elizabeth had fun just rolling around on the makeshift bed.

Create a path of letters. Play an impromptu game of "Stomp on/ Touch/ Point at the letter ___."

A line/ path of foam letters also make a fun road for matchbox cars, a landing strip for an airplane, or even a substitute railroad for trains.

Do you have floor mat play ideas you'd like to share? We'd love to try them!

Cons
Matthew is way past the 'mouthing toys' stage. But there's something about these foam pieces that he likes so sometimes I'll catch him biting or chewing on a piece. Elizabeth is teething. I find her chewing on the pieces too sometimes. We have a "no chewing/ biting foam" rule here. The foam pieces are confiscated and rinsed.

Storage was an issue until I rearranged the toys and dedicated one toy box for all the pieces.

Clean up is tedious. Luckily, Matthew and Elizabeth don't take the pieces apart too often.