Foam alphabet puzzle mat

Cheaply & easily available at hypermarkets & supermarkets. I bought the EVA brand at about RM23 for a set of 26 alphabets & 10 numbers pieces. I've so much use out of them that I bought a 2nd set.

How did I used it?
(1) When young & yet to crawl, it was laid out in one layer & he lay on it. The tiled floor is a bit too cold for a young baby.

(2) When he was learning to crawl:
- it softened his falls
- it provided a bit of texture (grip) to help him move forward cos tiled floor was rather smooth.
- gave some visual stimulation as it is very colourful

(3) When he could walk, I lay it to form a "track" for him to follow around the dining table, to the lounge etc. Sometimes it's simply him walking on it (or almost) & sometimes, it's for his push-along toy bug to "walk" on it. These help with body co-ordination & hand eye co-ordination

(4) It was one of the many "toys" to teach him his numbers & alphabets.

(5) Fine motor: he loves to remove (by using his pointer finger to "dig out") the numbers/alphabets from the "frame". I get him to help replace them, which also involves fine motor & hand eye co-ordination

(6) As a subsitute for "step-up" boxes (gross motor, step up/step down):

As he gained confidence in walking, I moved on to teach him to walk up steps. But he's a very cautious boy & for a long time wouldn't want to try walking up the stairs by himself. So I piled some pieces on top of each other to create a wide enough small step & placed it around, like an obstacle course, together with other challenges. I had to hold the pieces together with rubber band so it wouldn't move or else he's slip & hurt himself. After many many times of trying with me holding his hand, he'd eventually try it himself. Gradually, I increased the height by piling more pieces on top.

(7) Writing: I currently also use it as an alternative to sandpaper alphabets. It similarly provides tactile input when learning the strokes in writing the alphabet. It is not as rough, but is more colourful. As with sandpaper letters, you do need to be with him to show him the strokes, at least until you know that he's learnt them.