More Than Play
SIT ‘N SPIN
Watch your little one swirl and twirl with the SIT ‘N SPIN! She’ll love hopping on, turning the wheel and spinning to her heart’s content! Watch as she experiences rhythm, balance, movement and the discovery of her own strength.
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It’s More Than Play... This Toy Also Teaches:
Balance
Gross Motor Skills
Fitness & Stamina
Control of Muscle Strength
Language
Midline Development
Fundamental Movement Skills
Balance
Sure, spinning and swirling is fun, but did you know that children actually need to spin, tumble and twirl to develop a sense of balance? Our sense of balance is maintained by a series of fluid-filled canals in the inner ear called the vestibular system. When children are young, they need to move in all kinds of directions and speeds to “tune” these canals and learn their body’s relationship to gravity. The SIT ‘N SPIN is a perfect opportunity for kids to practice and develop balance. Children will not only love the feeling of spinning around, they’ll delight when they realize that they can get “undizzy” by spinning in the opposite direction. When children have a good sense of balance, they may be less likely to fidget and better able to concentrate. And guess what – the most advanced form of balance is to be still!
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Gross Motor Skills
Big muscle movements, or gross motor skills, develop before fine motor skills. The control of major muscle groups is a learned skill, and develops over time. Children develop these muscle groups from the center out—first they learn to control the head and upper body, followed by the torso and arms, then they refine the movements of the hands and fingers. This is called Cephalocaudal (top to bottom) and Proximodistal (inside to out) motor development. Activities like turning the wheel on the SIT ‘N SPIN provide a great opportunity for children to practice their gross motor skills. Gross motor skills are an important foundation for the development of fine motor skills.
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Fitness & Stamina
You know the saying: a fit body is the key to a fit mind. But children don’t get fit at the gym—they do it when they’re moving and playing. When children are fit, they are typically able to stay on task for longer periods, better able to concentrate, not as tired and often more motivated. Turning the wheel of the SIT ‘N SPIN is a great way for kids to keep fit while having fun!
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Control of Muscle Strength
“If I turn the wheel harder, I’ll spin faster! If I stop the wheel, I’ll stop too!” Learning how much force is required to create a desired action is a skill referred to as “Control of Muscle Strength.” Playing with toys like the SIT ‘N SPIN that require pushing and pulling movements can help children learn about their own strength.
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Language
Language is a complex skill that is learned and refined in many stages, and requires lots of time! Listening to and singing along with the songs included on the SIT ‘N SPIN can help children practice language skills through enjoyable repetition. Music helps children learn language in two ways. First, it helps kids learn to hear the differences in sound. Children will need to be able to differentiate between the different tones and sounds of letters later, when they learn to spell. Second, singing a song over and over again is repetitive, but fun! Repetition and practice is key to learning, and music offers a fun way to do both!
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Midline Development
The ability to make different movements with different sides and parts of the body at the same time is actually a learned skill that children develop over time. When children are young, they find it difficult to reach across the body with the right hand to reach something on the left, or vice versa. As they develop an understanding of midlines, children learn to make both sides of the body work together, and new pathways are made between the two hemispheres (sides) of the brain.
The MUSICAL SIT ‘N SPIN allows your child to practice these bilateral, or mirrored movements, by encouraging her to use both sides of her body together to turn the wheel and swirl and twirl herself around. Practicing bilateral movements is an important part of midline development. Once midlines have been learned and developed, a child’s preferred writing hand can begin to emerge.
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Fundamental Movement Skills
The more active a child is, the more likely they are to develop strong fundamental motor skills. While twisting and twirling herself around on the SIT ‘N SPIN, your child is practicing fundamental movement skills. As she uses the wheel to move herself, the SIT ‘N SPIN helps her to gain an understanding of her body and learn how to coordinate her movements.
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Learn more—together!
Want to join the fun? Playing with your child can boost her learning, and it gives her more time to bond with you! Try these simple tips to enhance your child’s play experience:
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Count how many times she spins. Get her to count with you!Challenge her to make the SIT ‘N SPIN go both ways. Teach her that this helps “undo” the dizzy feeling.Once she’s mastered the basics of spinning one way, then spinning in the opposite direction, you can make it more complex. Ask her, “Can you spin three times to the left, then four times to the right?” Celebrate her success by dancing along to the music!
