Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE: COGNITION NURTURING TOYS AND ~ETHOD
FOR NURTURING LEARNING STRATEGIES
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention pertains to educational toys and methods for
nurturing cognitive development of preschool children. More particularly,
the educational toys of the present invention are characterized by the
variety of their allxili~ry signs by which a child can develop le~rning
5 strategies.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Each and every one of us, regardless of our culture, colour, creed,
or intellectual challenge, begins a quest from birth to lead a productive and
fruitful life. Although, this inner drive is felt at various levels by adults, it
10 is much more intense when one considers the life of his or her own child.
Therefore, newborn babies are generally symbols of hope and great
expectations to their parents.
Parents and educators should appreciate, however, that one of the
greatest encouragements that one can give a child for preparing him/her to
15 accomplish his/her quest in life is to foster the development of learning
strategies at a very young age. The experiences of the first years of life are
believed to be crucial to an individual's future well being. It is believed
that the first three years of a child's lii'e, when his/her growth is most rapid,
is one of the most important periods there will ever be for increasing
20 his/her mental abilities.
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Scholars in the field of cognitive development of children also
believe that children have the ability to learn early in life. They also
believe that this ability should be developed in order to better prepare the
child for his/her school years and adult life.
In a first reference; "The Crrowth of the Mind", by Stanley I.
Greenspan M.D., pp.74-109 and 133-160, (1997) the author teaches the
importance of helping a child creating and or~ni7ing his/her internal world
that permits what we call thinking Furthermore, the author teaches that
there is mounting evidence that environmental influences can alter the
physical structure of the brain, determining in part how genes express
themselves in both biology and behaviour. The author also points out that
educational experts m~int~ined that improving children's early environment
would raise their intellectual abilities and better prepare them to survive,
even thrive, in the complex world they would inherit.
In a second reference: "Cognitive Development: An Information
Processing Approach", by John McShane, pp. 161-198, (1991), the author
teaches that infants are capable of learning from birth, which implies the
presence of a basic memory system and that the basic structure of the
memory system is part of an innate architecture of cognition.
In another book entitled "The Vygotsky Reader" by René van der
Veer & Jaan Valsiner, pp. 142-146, (1994), the authors further teach that
a child memory, even at the most primitive stages of psychological
development comprises principally two different types of memory
functions. The first type of memory function called the natural memory,
is characterized by the immediate impression of material by the simple
after-effect of actual experiences. This kind of memory is very near to
perception and is domin~ting in primitive behaviour.
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The second type of memory function is often called the instrumental
memory, associative memory, or the use of learning strategies. It goes far
beyond the limits of natural memory, adding to the psychological structure
of the natural memory certain external signs that are used as active agents
5 governing the psychological process fi om without. When the infant cannot
solve the problem by way of direct mobilization of his/her natural memory,
he/she has recourse to certain external manipulations, org~ni7ing
himself/herself through the org~ni~tion of objects, creating artificial
stirnuli that have a reverse action of a]lowing him/her to solve the problem
10 of remembering. This is a psychological behaviour which helps a child to
overcome the limits set for memory by natural laws, and what is most
important according to the authors, it is primarily this mech~ni~m in
memory which is subject to development.
The inventor of the instant inventions believes that through free play
15 with educational toy systems that are abounding in external stimuli,
children are provided with experiences necessary to teach them essential
learning strategies associated with development of the advanced memory
functions. It is believed that educational toys abounding in auxiliary signs
by which a child can associate new information, can lay a foundation of
20 strategic behaviours which the young infant can experience and prosper
from for future learning. No longer will strategic behaviour randomly
emerge firom a child's early childhood experience. By virtue of educational
toys rich in learning stimuli, the very associative memory function that
children possess at birth may be transformed into an emergent pattern of
25 shategic abilities which may support their intelligence for the rest of their
llves.
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It has been found that the educational toys of the prior art, in
general, lack the auxiliary signs or the variety of stimuli, to effectively
develop learning strategies of children. For example, the Great Britain
Patent 214,098 issued on April 17, 1924 to C. H. Planck illustrates an
5 alphabet puzzle. The puzzle shows the letters of the alphabet with
illustrations corresponding to the letters. Each puzzle piece interlocks with
only one other letter piece by way of a unique profile common only to
adjacent pieces, such that a child can learn the sequence of the letters of the
alphabet.
In a second example, the US Patent 3,302,310 issued on February
7, 1967 to G. R. Leven, discloses an educational puzzle for teaching the
phonetic of letters. The puzzle has pieces illustrating letters and pieces
illustrating objects. Each letter piece is lockable, by way of a uniquely
shaped tab, only with a related series of object pieces. A piece "A" for
15 example is lockable with an object piece having the letter "A" such as an
"apple", a "fan", or a "bat".
In yet another example, US Patent 5,575,658 issued on November
19, 1996 to C . Barnard, discloses another form of puzzle for teaching the
letters of the alphabet. The puzzle has three sets of puzzle pieces. A first
20 set of pieces represents the lowercase letters. A second set of pieces
represents the uppercase letters. A third set of pieces represents groups of
letters. The lowercase letters fit into corresponding cavities in the
uppercase letters. The uppercase letters fit into cavities in the group pieces.
Hence, the puzzle provides a means for teaching simultaneously the
25 uppercase letters, the lowercase letters and the sequence of the letters of the
alphabet. In this invention, the lowercase letters may have a different
colour than the uppercase letters, and of course, all the pieces in one group
on a larger puzzle piece may be identically coloured.
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For a child who does not yet know the letters of the alphabet, the
learning of these letters using the educational puzzles of the prior art may
represent an insurmountable task. The signs by which a child may
associate and remember the new information are limited to the shape of the
5 letters, the shape of the interlocking tabs joining pairs of pieces together,
and the colours common to two or more letters in a same group. It will be
appreciated that children are not all gifted equally for colour and shape
recognition. According to some studies, particularly the aforesaid book
entitled "Cognitive Development: An Information Processing Approach",
by John McShane, pp. 164-167, (1991), children are known to be more
talented for image or picture recognition than for memorizing shapes and
colours.
This observation will be further appreciated by the persons fervent
of puzzles. It is known to these persons that the diff1culty level in finding
15 the right placement of a puzzle piece increases substantially when the piece
belongs to a section of a puzzle representing an homogeneous blue sky, a
dense forest or a calm sea. In these cases the player can only rely on shape
and colour recognition for f1nding the correct placement of the piece. The
inventor of the present inventions believes that the same diff1culty level is
20 experienced by a young infant trying to learn the letters of the alphabet or
numerical symbols when the only external stimuli available to that child are
those of shape and colour.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In the cognition nurturing toys of the present invention, however,
25 there are provided a multiplicity of external signs by which a child can
associate and memorized new knowledge. It is believed that this
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multiplicity of external signs enhances the awareness of a child for
alternate recourse for associating new experiences to existing knowledge.
The auxiliary signs give that child the ability to practice the uses of these
alternate recourse, thereby fostering the development of a strategic
5 approach to learning.
In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
cognition nurturing toy comprising at least one rigid board having a series
of cavities therein, with each cavity having a distinct outline belonging to
a first set. There is also provided a series of colourful illustrations printed
10 on the board with each illustration encompassing one cavity. Each
illustration in the series is arranged on the rigid board in a coherent order
portraying at least one environment. The cognition nurturing toy also
comprises a plurality of distinct pieces each having a shape corresponding
to one of the outlines of the cavities such that each piece is insertable in
15 only one of the cavities. Each piece further has colours and graphic
properties of the illustration encompassing the corresponding cavity.
A primary advantage of the cognition nurturing toy of the present
invention is that a child using the rigid board and the distinct pieces is able
to associate each piece to only one of the cavities, using shape recognition,
20 colour recognition and whole picture recognition. The child is further able
to assign a sequence to the outlines in the set and to the distinct pieces
using the coherent order of the illustrations within the environment.
In another aspect of the present invention, the cognition nurturing
toy comprises a book of rigid boards each containing one or more distinct
25 outlines belonging to the first set, and each of the one or more distinct
outlines is encompassed by an illustration portraying at least one
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environment. Furthermore, each board in the book depicts a written
strophe related to the environment illustrated on that board, and each
strophe is part of a poetic story depicted throughout the book. When the
strophes and the poem are read to a child, that child can use auditory signs
5 in the strophes and in the poem for remembering the sequence of the
distinct pieces within each environment, and the sequence of the distinct
pieces within two different environments depicted on subsequent page
boards.
In a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
lo structure having an horizontal crank-bar and a plurality of retainers hung
to that bar for holding the distinct puzzle pieces of a puzzle board above a
reference surface. The horizontal crank-bar is movable in a circular motion
about a longitudinal axis thereof, for moving the distinct puzzle pieces up
and down and back and forth relative to the reference surface. Thus, when
15 the puzzle board is laid on the reference surface at a distance from the
structure, and when the puzzle pieces are held by the retainers, a child
using the puzzle board, the distinct puzzle pieces and the structure is able
to simultaneously develop a motivation to reach and a perception of depth.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
20 new method for nurturing learning strategies of a child. The new method
of the present invention comprises the steps of providing the child with a
series of new symbols to be remembered, and simultaneously providing the
child with a multiplicity of auxiliary signs related to the new symbols. The
multiplicity of auxiliary signs typically comprises at least four auxiliary
25 signs selected from a group of signs comprising visual shapes, auditory
signs, tactile signs, colours, images, symmetry between a pair of images,
alternate views of illustrations depicted in the images, and environments
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depicted in the images. This method is advantageous for providing the
child with the ability to develop an awareness to alternate recourse for
associating the new symbols to current knowledge, and for providing the
child with the means for practising the uses of these alternate recourse.
5 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be further
understood from the following description, with reference to the drawings
in which:
- Figure l is a perspective front and top view of a partly open
l 0 alphabet story book representing a first embodiment of the cognitive
nurturing toys of the present invention;
- Figures 2 - 9 illustrate respectively, pages 1 to 8 of the alphabet
book shown in Figure l;
- Figure 10 is a plan view of a numeral story board representing a
second embodiment of the cognition nurturing toys of the present
invention;
- Figure 11 is a pictorial board with puzzle pieces having various
geometrical shapes, and representing a third embodiment of the
cognition nurturing toys of the present invention;
20 - Figure 12 is a fourth embodiment of the cognition nurturing toys of
the present invention illustrating three-dimensional figures of
various ~nim~
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- Figure 13 shows an articulated structure for moving the pieces of
a puzzle back and forth and up and down relative to a child using
the structure;
- Figure 14 is a front view of a L-shaped retainer used in cooperation
with the articulated structure assembly of Figure 13;
- Figure 15 is a side view of the L-shaped retainer of Figure 14;
- Figure 16 shows a modified embodiment of the articulated structure
of Figure 13 mounted in a baby crib.
DETAlLED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The preferred embodiments of the cognition nurturing toys of the
present invention differ substantially i'rom the educational toys of the prior
art in that the cognition nurturing toys of the present invention provides
third, fourth, fifth or higher dimensions by which a child can learn a series
of new symbols. These higher cognitive dimensions, or auxiliary stimuli,
are preferably selected from groups of beings, things, places, events or
feelings having common attributes to promote the use of geometry,
imagination or analytic skills, such that a child can develop these mental
capabilities at an early age.
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to Figures 1
to 9 thereof, a new cognition nurturing puzzle embodying the principles
and concepts of the present invention will be described. The alphabet story
book 20 of the first preferred embodiment, comprises a number of page
boards 22 having each a number of first cavities 24 for receiving a
corresponding number of puzzle pieces 26 during active use of the story
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book, and an equal number of second cavities 28 for storing the same
puzzle pieces when the story book is stowed away. Each of the cavities
24,28 and the corresponding puzzle piece 26 have the shape of one letter
of the alphabet. It will be appreciated that the depth of each cavity is
5 slightly less than the thickness of each puzzle piece, such that the pieces 26 are easily manipulated in and out of the cavities.
The story book 20 of the first preferred embodiment has a printed
illustration encompassing each letter cavity 24. Each illustration is brightly
painted to exercise the child's awareness of colours. Each illustration
10 preferably represents an infantile image of a person, animal or of an object
whose name has a first letter, or a dominant letter corresponding to the
shape of the puzzle piece to be inserted in that cavity.
The letter 'A' for example fits into a cavity in the illustration of an
airplane in Figure 2. Similarly, the letter piece 'B' goes with the balloons
15 in Figure 3. The letter piece 'C' fits into a cavity encompassing a clown.
The letter piece 'D' completes the figure of a dog. The letter piece 'E'
belongs to the elephant of Figure 4. The letter piece 'F' goes with the
features worn by the girl riding the elephant. The letter piece 'G'
completes the whole picture of the girl carried by the elephant.
Each letter piece contains distinctive details and colours of the
illustration surrounding the matching cavity. The placement of a puzzle
piece in a proper cavity completes the whole picture of the illustration
whereby a child can confirm his/her learning of the particular letter piece.
'10
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Thus far, the described associative le~rning aids of the puzzle of the
first preferred embodiment are shape, colour and whole picture recognition.
The puzzle of the first preferred embodiment has, however, an additional
cognitive dimension to it. Each illustration or image in the puzzle is placed
5 in a meaningful environment, a circus scene that is.
The purpose of this meaningful environment in this particular
instance, is to provide a fourth cognitive dimension by which a child can
memorize the sequence of the letters in the alphabet. By looking at two or
more characters in a meaningful environment, a child can form mental
10 images or invent im~gin~ry stories according to his/her fantasy about these
characters. These mental images and stories are known to not only help the
child remember the sequence of the letters in that group, but to be an
efficient method for developing the child's ability to categorize beings,
things, places, events or feelings by mentally relating the new knowledge
15 to existing memories.
For example, the airplane pulling a banner announcing the venue of
a circus illustrated on the first page of the story book 20 is an allxili~ry sign
or a stimulus to help a child remember that the letter 'A' is the first letter
of the alphabet. Similarly, the circus environment illustrated in Figure 3
20 shows a clown holding a cluster of balloons and a young dog climbing at
the clown's side. Since the illustration is easily perceived by a child, the
child can later recall a mental image of the clown to remember that the
letter 'C' follows the letter 'B', and that the letter 'D' follows the letter 'C'.
The child can later make reference to his/her mental images of the circus
25 scenes to remember that the clown was standing at the entrance of the
circus, that the elephant parade was the first major attraction; that the-hot-
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dog vendor stand was next to the elephant ring and so on. Hence, the
fourth dimension of this story book facilitates the memory of the sequence
of the letters in the alphabet.
In order to promote the use of all the auxiliary stimuli available in
5 the alphabet story book of the first preferred embodiment, each page of the
book contains a strophe of a poem which is to be read to the child by a
parent or an educator. This poem is further an auxiliary sign, an audible
one, by which the child can remember the sequence of each scene.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the letters of the puzzle
10 in the story book of the first preferred embodiment are grouped into one or
more circus scenes forming the complete alphabet. It will also be
appreciated that this story book is only one example of a me~ningffil
environment for fostering the development of learning strategies. Other
environmental stimuli could be for examples, social events such as
15 Christmas or a birthday party, species such as farm or forest ~nim~l~ or
geographic sites such as the jungle or the north pole.
A child can then form mental images of each of these groups and of
the interaction between each group in order to remember the letters in each
group, the sequence of the letters in each group and the sequence of each
20 group in the whole series. Accordingly, the story book of the first
preferred embodiment provides learning aids in the form of shape, colour,
whole picture, environment recognition, and audible instructions, and
exercises the child's mind in the manipulation of these learning stimuli.
A second embodiment of a cognition nurturing toy of the present
25 invention is illustrated in Figure 10. The numeral garden board 30 shown
therein illustrates a garden environment, and is accompanied by an
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appropriate story to be read to a child playing with the board. The numeral
garden board 30 has a first series of cavities 32 cont~ining each a puzzle
piece 34. Each puzzle piece has illustrations and colours which are
specific to the illustrations surrounding a corresponding cavity. The
5 numeral garden board 30 further has on a top portion thereof, a printed
series of the numbers from one to nine. A child playing with the puzzle
pieces can always refer to the printed series of characters to remember the
order of a numeral symbol within the series. The numeral garden board of
the second preferred embodiment also provides learning stimuli in the
I o form of shape, colour, whole picture, environment recognition, and audible
instructions for exercising a child to develop learning strategies.
In another aspect of the present invention, Figure 11 illustrates a
cognition nurturing puzzle of a third preferred embodiment. The puzzle of
the Figure 11 enables a child to perceive objects using shape, colour,
15 whole picture and symmetry recognition.
The puzzle 40 of the third preferred embodiment illustrates a pair of
large and small lions 42,44, a pair of large and small elephants 46,48, a pair
of large and small chimpanzees 50,52, and a pair of large and small hippos
54,56. A lion-head puzzle piece fits into a corresponding cavity in the
20 larger lion 42. Similarly, three other animal-head puzzle pieces fit into
corresponding cavities in the bodies of the respective larger ~nim~
The animal-head puzzle pieces are insertable in a proper cavity
using the aforesaid shape, colour and whole picture recognition skills.
Furthermore, the shape of each of the puzzle pieces is symmetrical with the
25 head of the smaller animal laying next to the larger animal to which the
puzzle piece belongs. A child is thereby able to develop symmetry
recognition skills when manipulating the pieces of this puzzle.
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A fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated
in Figure 12. The cognition nurturing toy of the fourth preferred
embodiment 60 comprises a flat board 62 and a group of three-dimensional
objects representing a turtle 64, a frog 66, and a duck 68. The flat board
5 62 has three cavities having respectively the shape of an outline of a plan
view of the turtle 70, an outline of a plan view of the frog 72 and an outline
of a plan view of the duck 74. The board further illustrates a water pond
80, a sandy shore 82 and waterlily plant 84. Near the duck cavity 74 there
is illustrated a shadow of a duck 90 having the same colour as the three-
10 dimensional object representing the duck 68. A shadow of the turtle 92 anda shadow of a frog 94 are similarly represented on the surface of the board
62 next to the cavity into which these pieces fit.
The three-dimensional pieces 64, 66 and 68 of this cognition
nurturing toy are associable with a respective cavity 70, 72 and 74 by using
15 shape recognition wherein the plan view of each object corresponds to the
shape of the corresponding cavity. The three-dimensional pieces of this toy
are also associable with a respective cavity by using colour recognition
wherein the colour of each of the shadows 90, 92 and 94 corresponds to the
colour of the corresponding three-dimensional object. The three-
20 dimensional pieces of this toy are further associable with a respectivecavity by whole picture recognition wherein the water pond 80 is better
perceived when the duck 68 covers the cavity 74 in this body of water;
wherein the sandy shore 82 is hardly recognizable without the turtle 64
standing on it, and wherein the waterlily leave 84 does not resemble a
25 waterlily leave without the frog 66 covering the central cavity in it.
14
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In the cognition nurturing toy 60 of the fourth preferred
embodiment, each animal is set in an environment which is natural to that
animal. A proper placement of a three-dimensional piece 64, 66 or 68
completes a common scenery. A child manipulating this toy can appreciate
5 the sight of each scenery and develop thereby environment recognition
skills.
Symmetry is another cognitive dimension by which association of
the three-dimensional pieces with a respective cavity may be effected. The
symmetry of each three-dimensional object with the corresponding two-
10 dimensional shadow is a further learning aid which can be exercised withthe toy of this fourth preferred embodiment.
A ffirther cognitive dimension included in the toy of the fourth
preferred embodiment is designated as perspective geometry. Those skilled
in the art will appreciate that in order to establish a relation between a
15 cavity forming the outline of a plan view of an object, a shadow
representing a side view of that object, and the three-dimensional
embodiment of that object requires certain ability to perceive objects in a
spatial mode. Hence, the toy of this fourth preferred embodiment provides
a child with the ability to manipulate learning aids in the form of shape,
20 colour, whole picture recognition, as well as symmetry recognition,
environment recognition and perspective geometry recognition.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that
the third, fourth, fifth and higher cognitive dimensions of the toys of the
present invention are not limited to shape, colour, whole picture,
25 environment, symmetry and perspective geometry. Other cognitive
dimensions may include without being limited thereto, association by
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species such as bird, fish and plants, group similarities such as age, gender
and race; related illustrations representing sensations such as warm, loud,
odorous and smooth, and emotions such as happiness, courage and love.
All these other cognitive ~limen~ions are intended to be encompassed by the
5 present invention.
When these higher cognitive dimensions are taught to a child in
combination with the conventional shape and colour recognition, the
learning ability of that child is proportionally increased. A child using a
variety of toys of the present invention can learn to draw upon a multitude
lO of cognitive dimensions to classify and associate new beings, things,
places, events and feelings to existing knowledge to better understand,
learn and remember this new knowledge.
As can be appreciated, all the cognitive dimensions described thus
far have comrnon attributes related to the sense of sight and hearing of a
15 child and therefor require no further explanations. Those knowledgeable
in the art will appreciate, however, that the sense of touch is an inborn
cognitive dimension which is used by a child at a very young age for
confirming the shape of objects perceived by the eyes. It is therefor
believed that when the cognition nurturing toys of the present invention are
20 used by a very young infant, less than one year old for example, these toys
should be strategically structured and positioned to append a tactile
dimension to the learning activity.
Accordingly, the object of the subsequent preferred embodiment is
to promote the use of a tactile dimension in a learning activity by inducing
25 the child to work the puzzle pieces off remote retainers and to carry these
pieces over substantial distances before placing the pieces in the cavities
of the puzzle board.
16
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Referring to Figures 13, 14 and 15, the cognition nurturing toy of
the third preferred embodiment 40 is preferably laid on the floor, at a
distance *om an horizontal bar 100 and support structure 102 assembly
supporting the puzzle pieces 104. The distance mentioned above is
preferably greater than the child's arm length for inciting the child to move
about while carrying a puzzle piece.
Each of the puzzle pieces 104 is attached to a respective L-shaped
retainer 106 having strips of gripping material 108 on two surfaces thereof.
Each puzzle piece 104 has a piece of mating material (not shown) on the
backside thereof such that it is attachable to the gripping material of the L-
shaped retainers. The cavities 110 of the board 40 may also have strips of
gripping material 112 for similarly retaining puzzle pieces 104 therein. It
will be appreciated that the thickness of the puzzle pieces 104 is slightly
more than the depth of the cavities 110 such that these pieces may be
subsequently removed from the cavities.
Each L-shaped retainer 106 filrther has a slot 114 in one extremity
thereof for receiving a holding strap 116. In the subsequent preferred
embodiment of the present invention, the holding straps 116 are used for
suspending a respective L-shaped retainer 106 to the horizontal bar 100 as
illustrated in Figure 13. When a L-shaped retainer 106 is suspended in this
manner, the puzzle piece 104 may be attached to the vertical surface or to
the horizontal surface of the retainer. When the puzzle piece is held to the
horizontal surface for example, a very young infant can crawl under the
suspended puzzle pieces, look at these pieces while lying on the floor and
pull the pieces off the retainers in a downward motion. The child can
thereafter crawl to the puzzle board 40 and confirm his knowledge of the
shape, colour, whole picture and symmetry of the piece by inserting the
piece in a proper cavity.
17
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The L-shaped retainers 106' may also be placed on the floor with the
puzzle pieces 104' attached to the riser part of the retainer. In this instance,the retainers 106' may be initially placed by a parent for example at a more
or less distant point from the board 40 such that a child is given the
5 opportunity to develop a motivation to reach. Such initiative is known to
be important in the normal development of a child, and it can be
appreciated that the sooner a motivation to reach is developed, the earlier
the child will add dexterity to his learning strategy resources.
The horizontal bar 100 of the support structure assembly preferably
10 has the shape of a crank-bar, and is preferably optionally activated in a
rotational motion by a windable clockwork 118. When the straps 116 of
the L-shaped retainers are attached at various locations along the crank-bar,
and the clockwork is activated, the ~puzzle pieces 104 attached to the L-
shaped retainers 106 move up and down and back and forth relative to a
15 child standing or laying nearby. The movement of the pieces further
stimulates the child to develop an ability to reach, and more importantly,
this movement develops the child's perception of depth.
The support structure assembly 100,102 and the L-shaped retainers
106 of this subsequent preferred embodiment or the present invention,
20 allows the placement ofthe puzzle pieces 104' in a different plane than the
puzzle board 40, and at a distance from the puzzle board 40 which is
greater than the arm's length of the child. The structure and retainers of
this subsequent preferred embodiment allow the working of the puzzle
pieces off the retainers and a lengthy manipulation of the pieces, whereby
25 the child can better feel the curved edges of a disc, the acute angles of a
triangle, the obtuse angles of a polygon or the straight edges of a rectangle
for examples.
18
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The tactile dimension of the cognition nurturing toys of the present
invention is further an important aspect in the development of a child
wherein it induces a child to develop a motivation to reach, a sense of
initiative and consequently a pro-active attitude towards le~rning
This aspect in the development of a child is preferably promoted at
a very early age of the infant, and even as early as when the baby starts to
roll over and sit. At this stage, one can consider the installation a modified
embodiment 120 of the articulated structure 100, having a clamping
member 122 and being mountable to the headboard 124 of a crib 126 for
example, as illustrated in Figure 16. With this embodiment of the present
invention it is recommended to include the singing of a lullaby to the child
while the child is playing with the puzzle board 40, to further promote a
motivation to reach at the same time as a development of rhythm.
The purpose of this modified embodiment 120 is to arouse the
baby's curiosity while the baby is laying in a crib. As soon as the baby can
grab and pull a puzzle piece 104 from one of the retainer 106, he/she can
relate the shape of the puzzle piece to one of the cavities 110 of the puzzle
board 40 mounted on the side bars 128 of the crib 126 for example, and
start to learn all the aforesaid associative skills.
While the above description provides a full and complete disclosure
of various preferred embodiments of the cognition nurturing toys of the
present invention, various modifications and equivalents may be employed
without departing from the true spilit and scope of the invention. Such
changes might involve alternate environmental themes, structural
arrangements, sizes, construction features and the like. Therefore, the
above description and the illustrations should not be construed as limiting
the scope of the present invention which is defined by the appended claims.
19
