Description: Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog fidget friend is made for active play:
Spin the wheel
Turn the crank
Press the button
Twist the knob
Push the plunger
Move the switch
Continuous hands-on actions like these help young children understand cause and effect, boosting confidence in their own ability to solve problems and do independent work. These actions also help to strengthen the wrist, thumb, and forefinger all while building important fine motor skills that are key to tasks like self feeding, dressing, and tying shoes. Sized just right for little hands, Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog Fidget Friend is ready for play everywhere you go. Spike is durable and easy to clean—just wipe him down with a damp cloth!
How To Use It: Start by helping your child work on each of Spike’s fidget functions. Some functions encourage the use of the pincer grasp (e.g., the dimple on the red dial) or the whole hand (e.g., the purple plunger and the green knob) to build grip strength. Let the child play freely, twisting, pressing, and fidgeting in any order. Have fun!
What’s In The Box:
One Spike the hedgehog
One activity guide
Adaptability:
Build vocabulary by naming the action words associated with the fidget functions, one at a time, while doing the work (Spin! Turn! Push!”). Then, have the child perform each action as they repeat the verbs (“Spin! Turn! Push!”) back to you.
Randomize the order of actions by color and number. For example, you could label each fidget with a number (1–6) for the child to perform the actions in sequence (or even count backward!), you could call out a random number (“4!”) for the child to find, or you could tell the child to perform the actions in a specific pattern (“1-1-2” or “orange-orange-red”).
Make up a silly story for your child to enact with Spike’s help, a great activity for expressive and receptive language. Here is one example: “Spike just loves hunting for berries in the forest. He sees a log just underneath a branch full of the delicious fruit. He PUSHES (child pushes plunger) himself up onto the log—phew! Let’s give him a second to catch his breath. He then SPINS (gear) his body around, SHIFTS (lever) to extend his arm far above his head, grabs the branch, and TWISTS (knob) several berries free. He immediately gobbles them all up! Finally happy, he settles in for a long nap.”
