Spike The Fine Motor Hedgehog from Learning Resources is a sensory toy that can help a child with motor development and early skill-building.
Spike has a brown body with a pale blue easily removable back section, like a shell. The back section has twelve numbered holes, fitted into which are twelve quills. These take the form of pegs - colored red, purple, orange, or green - that young children can easily grasp. Kids can remove the hedgehog shell and store the quills so they don't get lost. This storage area doesn't just keep the pieces neatly together. Parents can use it to teach a child to put away their toys when they have finished playing.
There are skills and learning adventures that kids can develop with this toy. One of these skills is color recognition.
Color Recognition
This is important because color can help develop a child's descriptive language ability. Parents can help children learn their colors through games. For example, a parent could suggest a child remove all the red pegs, put a green peg in a hole, or open the back and put away all the purple pegs. Kids can also learn sorting skills by grouping all the same color quills together.
Number Recognition
The top of the toy's shell has numbers from one to twelve next to all the holes. Parents can use the toy to teach kids how to learn their numbers by recognizing patterns. For example, you can tell a child to put one of the quills into the number seven hole.
Directional Skills
Locating the pegs in the correct hole improves their directional skill as well as their fine motor skills. Plus, it helps with their hand-to-eye coordination. Also, using toys that call for grasping can help a child with their hand strength.
Bright colors, as in the quills, are known to boost learning, plus kids are easily able to tell bright colors apart, especially when they're beginning to learn their colors.
Spike, the fine motor hedgehog, is a colorful yet simple toy consisting of fourteen pieces includes an activity guide to help parents through the learning routines, and is easily kept clean by wiping with a wet cloth.
There is also a pink version of Spike.