A proper grip on a writing utensil is important. The way a writing utensil is held affects comfort and endurance, and will especially impact handwriting, drawing, and coloring. The most popular and encouraged grasps is the Dynamic Tripod. This is considered the perfect grasp. With that said, there are others that are now viewed as viable options, such as the Lateral Tripod or Quadrupod Grasps. All of these “mature” pencil grasps are similar, and may all be achieved through the physical prompts. These prompts are known in the field of education and therapy as pencil grips.
A pencil grip is placed on a writing utensil and offers very concrete guidance as to finger placement. They can be effective, but more often than not, they are pretty boring, offering nothing more than the stated physical prompt.
Noggins however, do bring the added sense of play and imagination. They certainly provide the prompting of a typical pencil grip, but also transform the writing utensil into a character or creature, where the tip of the marker or crayon is now a nose or tongue. This sparks the imagination, and now visual-motor tasks like tracing or coloring, become the Noggin smelling things or licking.
It is this distraction from work tasks that adds to the effectiveness of the Noggins. They promote a mature grasp physically, but also motivate and use play as the agent of change, learning, and the development of skills.
