Switch and Spin Magnetic Gear Board
PLEASE NOTE: Product photographs may vary slightly from the received product due to international versioning and catalogue changes. Where there is a significant difference however, we will make you aware of the differences in the description on the right.
item code: M&D-3745
All prices are local VAT inclusive.
A unique spin on magnetic toys, Switch & Spin Magnetic Gear Board lets kids build their own toy! Simply choose a picture template from 10 unique designs and place it in the wooden frame. Then add the gears in the colour-coded spaces to turn each picture into an amazing kid-powered machine! Or remove the templates to reveal the white magnetic surface which is perfect for an open-ended exploration of simple mechanics, or a range of counting, adding, and problem-solving activities (instructions included).
This sturdy, durable gears toy includes:
a magnetic board with wooden frame
eight magnetic pegs
eight colourful gears
five double-sided, colour-coded design templates
Suitable for ages 2 years and older.
This product helps to develop Sensory Skills which are key building blocks in a child’s development and influence every activity that a child does. Opportunities to engage in sensory activities help a child’s brain to process all the information it is receiving from their senses, and respond in an appropriate way. Our senses include: smell (olfactory); taste (gustatory); sound (auditory); touch (tactile); seeing (visual); movement (vestibular) and joint position / deep pressure (proprioception).
Children develop sensory skills as early as in utero and continue to refine these skills well into their childhood years. Exploration and exposure to a variety of different sensations and sensory experiences is very important for a person’s overall development.
This product can help develop Gross Motor Skills by improving co-ordination and muscle strength to assist a child with gross motor tasks such as walking, running, jumping and climbing. The large muscles of our bodies in our arms (biceps and triceps) and legs (hamstrings and quadriceps) are responsible for helping us perform these actions successfully, and therefore these muscles need to be strong. An important factor in developing gross motor skills is good postural control. A strong and stable core (stomach and back muscles) helps one achieve successful movement of the limbs.
Gross motor skills begin developing from a very early age and continue to develop all through childhood, culminating in a person being able to ride a bike without training wheels and swing themselves independently on a swing.
This product can develop a child’s Fine Motor Skills by improving the strength and co-ordination of small muscle groups to achieve a task. The small muscles around the mouth (lips, tongue etc.) are important for speech and eating, and those in a child’s hands help them to perform different grips such as tripod (the correct pencil grip) and pincer (thumb and index finger grip) to achieve tasks. Fine motor skills of the hand develop fully later on in childhood, but start with full, open hand grasping of toys as babies and culminate in a perfect tripod pencil grip when they are writing neatly at school.
Finally, scissor skills are also important fine motor skills that require the co-ordination of fingers on one hand to open and close the scissors while the other hand holds the material being cut. Using both hands together in this way to achieve a task is known as bilateral-coordination.
This product helps children develop their independence by focussing on aspects of Self Care. Getting dressed in the morning and doing up zips, buttons and laces requires good gross and fine motor skills. Brushing teeth and hair as well as toileting skills all require good body and self awareness which is promoted by encouraging self care skills.
Learning to feed oneself using cutlery (spoon, knife and fork) is a large step towards finding independence. In order to assist children to become independent, self confident little people, developing self care skills are very important.
This product can assist in developing a child’s Perceptual Skills which determine how a child’s brain receives, organises and interprets what they are seeing (visual sensory information). Perceptual skills are the ones we use for activities such as completing a puzzle and writing, as well as understanding concepts such as colour, size and number recognition.
More complex concepts such as knowing one’s left from right side of their body (right-left discrimination), being able to recognise complete objects from incomplete ones (visual closure) and remembering visual stimuli over a short and long term period (visual memory), all fall under the category of perceptual skills.
This product can facilitate the development of Cognitive Skills which include how a child’s brain develops, stores, recalls and reacts to their environment. Concentration, attention and listening skills all impact on a child’s cognitive and learning ability, and this product encourages children to develop those key areas.
Problem solving, memory skills and sequencing (the order in which things happen) of tasks are very important cognitive skills to develop as a child grows up.
This product can help develop positive Social and Emotional Skills which are very important to a child’s overall wellbeing. Social skills include listening to instructions and taking turns when interacting with peers and adults.
Emotions are very real for children, and being encouraged to explore and express those in a positive and acceptable way should always be encouraged.
Positive social and emotional experiences through solitary play (i.e. the ability to play alone) as well as group play and interactions with other peers and adults all contribute towards building a healthy self confidence and esteem in children.
Colours and Matching - identify each colour gear and match it to the correct peg on the board.
Counting - count the number of gears and or pegs on each different picture.
Cognitive and Memory Skills - place 3 to 5 gears in front of the child. Ask the child to remember them and then close their eyes. Remove one gear and ask the child to identify the one that is missing.
Opposites - remove all the gears except two. Using one gear demonstrate clockwise turning / counter-clockwise or fast / slow. Encourage the child to repeat this with the other gear.
Fine Motor - trace around the gears to create fun pictures and encourage the use of two hands together (bilateral co-ordination).