NogginSeek

Product Description

Sensory 4

Skills

• NogginSeek provides visual stimulation and promotes visual attention by use of the barbershop themed sliding tube, colored beads clear Noggin with defining yellow ear which promote exploration and tracking.
• NogginSeek provides auditory stimulation and promotes auditory attention by use of beads moving in, around and out of the Noggin which promotes tracking of sound.
• NogginSeek provides tactile stimulation and promotes tactile differentiation through its construction of plastic with raised facial features, as well as a firm, grip-able and mouth-able rubbery handle with bumps and grooves which promote exploration.

Play Ideas

• To promote auditory discrimination skills, place NogginSeek and another noise emitting object in separate opaque containers. Facilitator or child will shake the containers to identify the Noggin by sound. Increase complexity by adding more objects and containers to the game.
• To promote tactile differentiation skill development, place the NogginSeek in an opaque container with objects of varying textures and hardness; instruct the child to find the NogginSeek by touch only. 
• To develop auditory attention skills, instruct child to close his / her eyes while facilitator shakes the NogginSeek around the child (sides of head, on top of head, in front of face, etc.). Child will reach for the NogginSeek in the direction from which the noise is emanating.
• To promote visual attention and tracking, tie the NogginSeek to a stretch band which is attached to a secure surface and when it is resting, the NogginSeek is nearly out of reach for child. Instruct child to grab and release the Noggin and watch and listen to it as it moves towards and away from child until it comes to a rest again.

Adaptation Ideas

• To add more visual interest, color the Noggin’s embossed facial features with a permanent marker
• To provide more depth of field to the Noggin head, darken the back of the Noggin with a marker or cover crepe paper in order to accentuate the facial features.
• To dampen the sound of the rattle balls, adhere soft material to the back of the Noggin head.

Physical 4

Skills

• NogginSeek encourages the development of two handed play and transferring between hands as the player manipulates the rattle; particularly for those with undeveloped grip and wrist strength.
• NogginSeek develops grip strength as the player grasps and holds the rattle to shake or tip it in order to move the rattle balls.  
• NogginSeek develops fine motor skills as the player uses fingers to grasp and hold the blue ring handle.
• NogginSeek promotes wrist and arm strength development as the player utilizes them to lift and shake the rattle.

Play Ideas

• To encourage reach and arm extension, hang the NogginSeek a few inches to a foot out of reach from child. Encourage child to reach for or hit the Noggin to make the rattle emit noise.
• To develop overall hand and arm strength, use NogginSeek as a drumstick on a hard or semi-hard surface that offers some resistance as the Noggin makes contact with it.
• To encourage object transfer between hands during play, instruct the player to use one hand to make the rattle balls disappear and the other hand to make them reappear in the Noggin.
• To encourage neck and back strengthening during tummy time, facilitator will hold the NogginSeek slightly above head level and in front of child to encourage child to look and reach up for the rattle.

Adaptation Ideas

• Attach Velcro to the handle to assist children with weak or underdeveloped grip to access the toy with a Velcro glove.
• Attach string to handle for easy attachment to car seat or stroller to provide easy access when child drops the rattle.
• Facilitator may offer hand over hand assistance to help child hold and shake Noggin Seek.
• To make the handle more challenging to grasp, cover rubberized grip with slick material.

Cognitive 4

Skills

• NogginSeek develops object permanence skills as the rattle beads move in and out of the opaque handle and clear Noggin.
• NogginSeek develops cause and effect skill development as the player observes how the balls move in relation to his / her movement of the rattle.
• NogginSeek develops visual processing skills as the player observes and interprets how the beads entering and leaving the Noggin.
• NogginSeek develops auditory processing skills as the player hears and interprets the sound of the beads entering and leaving the Noggin.
• NogginSeek develops curiosity as the player explores the various textures, sounds, colors, and moving pieces of the rattle
• NogginSeek promotes emerging hand-eye coordination skills as the player manipulates the rattle in relation to observation of rattle elements. 

Play Ideas

• To develop object permanence skills, facilitator or older sibling will play peek-a-boo with rattle. As the facilitator turns the NogginSeek to hide the rattle balls and asks “Where did they go?” he / she will encourage the player to grab the handle to return the balls to the Noggin and say “There they are!”
• To develop spatial conceptual skills, facilitator or older sibling will verbally label the rattle balls arrival (“in the”) and departure (“out of”) from the Noggin.
• To introduce early counting conceptual development, an older sibling or peer will count aloud the rattle beads as they enter or leave the Noggin as directed by player’s rattle manipulation.
• To introduce positional conceptual development, an older sibling or facilitator will help guide player in directing the white rattle ball to enter the tube handle first or last and indicating such.

Adaptation Ideas

Create colored rattle ball replicas for the child to physically manipulate and make advanced concept development tasks more concrete. Option to utilize a canning funnel and opaque container to replicate balls funneling in and out of sight in the NogginSeek.