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Hi! I’m Chris Truby and I’m an autism dad. Learning Resources' products have been a part of my family ever since my boys were young because of the seamless way they connect learning with fun. It then became a more important part of my life as “play therapy” when my youngest was diagnosed with autism at age 2. Special needs toys can be hard to find, but Learning Resources has many options for play as well as developmental aspects.My son is now 12 and we still use Learning Resources products to have fun while learning. I want to share some of the items that have been beneficial and enjoyable over the years in case others in the special education community may find them useful. Enjoy!
-Great for school or home- Reduces anxiety by providing a visual schedule/forecast of the day’s activities-Helps develop an understanding of the concept of time, like recognizing morning activities vs night activities or the appropriate amount of time spent on a task- Helps with telling time and transitioning from activity to activity- Improves time management skills- It is customizable, making it easy to create your own unique activity cards
-Develops fine motor skills- Can be used to reinforce early speech by practicing vowels and consonant sounds-Thinking of words that start with each letter of the alphabet- Great for teaching about similar and different attribute. How are they the same? How are they different?- Sort by color or letters
-Versatile, can be used in a variety of ways depending on sensory needs (My son uses them with water, in the pool, in the bath tub, with the garden hose)- Great for making wave bottles (oil, water, food coloring and make sure the caps are tight)- Perfect for sand and water tables- Introduce non-preferred sensory items, like unique textures or strong smells, in a non-threatening way- These are known as "calm down bottles"- great for relieving sensory overload- Can be given as rewards or motivators to encourage finishing non-preferred tasks
-Instant icebreaker, just throw the cubes and answer the questions-Easy game for peer groups, mentors, and buddies to play to get to get to know each other-Encourages social interaction and communication skills-Provides topics that promote personal interests, interaction, and discussion-Promotes social skills
-Encourages turn taking-Develops fine motor skills in a fun way by squeezing the frog-Squeezing can be soothing and relaxing (like a stress ball)-Helps teach attributes-Quick, easy game to play, no long instructions-Introduces early math concepts
Children with special needs enjoy engaging and fun activities, and these toys have proven to encourage learning and conversation while having fun!
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Top 5 Toys for Special Needs
Hi! I’m Chris Truby and I’m an autism dad. Learning Resources' products have been a part of my family ever since my boys were young because of the seamless way they connect learning with fun. It then became a more important part of my life as “play therapy” when my youngest was diagnosed with autism at age 2. Special needs toys can be hard to find, but Learning Resources has many options for play as well as developmental aspects.My son is now 12 and we still use Learning Resources products to have fun while learning. I want to share some of the items that have been beneficial and enjoyable over the years in case others in the special education community may find them useful. Enjoy!
-Great for school or home- Reduces anxiety by providing a visual schedule/forecast of the day’s activities-Helps develop an understanding of the concept of time, like recognizing morning activities vs night activities or the appropriate amount of time spent on a task- Helps with telling time and transitioning from activity to activity- Improves time management skills- It is customizable, making it easy to create your own unique activity cards
-Develops fine motor skills- Can be used to reinforce early speech by practicing vowels and consonant sounds-Thinking of words that start with each letter of the alphabet- Great for teaching about similar and different attribute. How are they the same? How are they different?- Sort by color or letters
-Versatile, can be used in a variety of ways depending on sensory needs (My son uses them with water, in the pool, in the bath tub, with the garden hose)- Great for making wave bottles (oil, water, food coloring and make sure the caps are tight)- Perfect for sand and water tables- Introduce non-preferred sensory items, like unique textures or strong smells, in a non-threatening way- These are known as "calm down bottles"- great for relieving sensory overload- Can be given as rewards or motivators to encourage finishing non-preferred tasks
-Instant icebreaker, just throw the cubes and answer the questions-Easy game for peer groups, mentors, and buddies to play to get to get to know each other-Encourages social interaction and communication skills-Provides topics that promote personal interests, interaction, and discussion-Promotes social skills
-Encourages turn taking-Develops fine motor skills in a fun way by squeezing the frog-Squeezing can be soothing and relaxing (like a stress ball)-Helps teach attributes-Quick, easy game to play, no long instructions-Introduces early math concepts
Children with special needs enjoy engaging and fun activities, and these toys have proven to encourage learning and conversation while having fun!
What kid doesn’t love outer space? Not only is it full of mystery and magic, space and the explorations that take us there provide a great opportunity to understand the universe beyond our own world.
We had SO much fun figuring out all the details of sending a weather balloon and Beaker Creatures into space. Hopefully your little ones will have just as much fun watching the video!To introduce kids to outer space and provide an understanding of our atmosphere, we decided it would be fun to send ice cream to space along with our Astrolyte guides from the planet Starus, our fun friends from the Beaker Creatures’ Super Lab!
Before we get into the excitement of the weather balloon, let’s first understand… Earth’s atmosphere!
“Outer Space” begins at the Karman Line, approximately 62 miles above sea level.Interestingly enough, our atmosphere actually continues through the Exosphere where it gradually fades into further outer space.
Our weather balloon, with our trustee Beaker Creature friends on board, reached an altitude of 97,000 feet aka 18 miles aka 28 km into the atmosphere; which means that we crossed Earth’s ozone layer!
The Troposphere is where clouds form, and is considered slightly unstable. This layer contains half of the earth’s atmosphere, and all of earth’s weather!
Next, the Stratosphere. We can thank the Stratosphere for giving us our Ozone layer as well as protecting us from harmful sun radiation! The air in the stratosphere is much dryer and thinner than at sea level and thus is the perfect location for jets and weather balloons to fly!
The Mesosphere is a whole other type of protector. There’s not much scientific research that can be done here yet because it’s too high for weather balloons and other in-atmosphere air crafts, and satellites and spaceships orbit outside of this layer. However, this layer is responsible for burning up the meteors heading our way. (Thanks, Mesosphere!)
The thermosphere is the area of our atmosphere where the International Space Station soars and where the temperatures can get up to… 2700 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT!The farthest layer of our atmosphere is the Exosphere, made up mainly of hydrogen and helium particles.The higher you get in our atmosphere, the lower the air pressure drops and this is why our balloon popped! Well… plus a few other reasons.
Let’s talk weather balloon!!!
It’s no small feat to send a weather balloon to space. And Oh BOY did we learn that!
First, we found a company that sold full kit weather balloons. This ended up being super helpful, since it came with a GPS unit, a computer that would track our altitude and temperature and a nice rig to build our GoPros, ice cream, and little Astrolyte buddies onto.
Locating a decent launch site is super important, and there are a lot of federal compliances to be aware of. We filed a Notam (Notice to Air Maintenance), learned aeronautical charts, how to calculate nautical miles and how to tell time in Zulu (the “world time”)!
When prepping a weather balloon, every gram added to your payload (what the balloon is carrying below the parachute) is important, every knot tied in the flight line is important; the exact time of launch, ground wind, jet streams, cloud cover, everything you can think of!
A weather balloon is filled with helium because helium is lighter than air and will cause the rise of the balloon. However! Once the balloon starts rising in the atmosphere, the surrounding pressure drops, the helium inside the balloon pushes outward (because now there’s less pushing it inward), and that push stretches the latex until the balloon pops!
For our experiment, the pop happened at 97,000 ft, just above our ozone, inside the inner layer of Stratosphere.
Thankfully, since we had our GPS unit attached, once the weather balloon began descending and crossed below 60,000 feet (our GPS unit works from 0-60k ft, so you lose signal for a period of time), we were able to track its location!
Before the launch we did our best to estimate where it would land. However our balloon was sent to the opposite side of the mountain range because the weather was unpredictable.(red dot is landing location)
That’s part of the fun of weather balloons, and if your kid is into space, they will love it as well. You calculate, you know so many tiny details, and have so much information but at the end of the day… you never really know where the winds will take you.
The winds that day took us two miles into Death Valley late at night. (What an ADVENTURE!)
But it worked! All our calculations (and some miscalculations), were well worth it. Even our Astrolytes made it back safely!
We learned a substantial amount, had a great time with our new Beaker Creature pals and who knows… maybe our safe landing was thanks to our Astrolyte buddies!
What kid doesn’t love outer space? Not only is it full of mystery and magic, space and the explorations that take us there provide a great opportunity to understand the universe beyond our own world.
We had SO much fun figuring out all the details of sending a weather balloon and Beaker Creatures into space. Hopefully your little ones will have just as much fun watching the video!To introduce kids to outer space and provide an understanding of our atmosphere, we decided it would be fun to send ice cream to space along with our Astrolyte guides from the planet Starus, our fun friends from the Beaker Creatures’ Super Lab!
Before we get into the excitement of the weather balloon, let’s first understand… Earth’s atmosphere!
“Outer Space” begins at the Karman Line, approximately 62 miles above sea level.Interestingly enough, our atmosphere actually continues through the Exosphere where it gradually fades into further outer space.
Our weather balloon, with our trustee Beaker Creature friends on board, reached an altitude of 97,000 feet aka 18 miles aka 28 km into the atmosphere; which means that we crossed Earth’s ozone layer!
The Troposphere is where clouds form, and is considered slightly unstable. This layer contains half of the earth’s atmosphere, and all of earth’s weather!
Next, the Stratosphere. We can thank the Stratosphere for giving us our Ozone layer as well as protecting us from harmful sun radiation! The air in the stratosphere is much dryer and thinner than at sea level and thus is the perfect location for jets and weather balloons to fly!
The Mesosphere is a whole other type of protector. There’s not much scientific research that can be done here yet because it’s too high for weather balloons and other in-atmosphere air crafts, and satellites and spaceships orbit outside of this layer. However, this layer is responsible for burning up the meteors heading our way. (Thanks, Mesosphere!)
The thermosphere is the area of our atmosphere where the International Space Station soars and where the temperatures can get up to… 2700 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT!The farthest layer of our atmosphere is the Exosphere, made up mainly of hydrogen and helium particles.The higher you get in our atmosphere, the lower the air pressure drops and this is why our balloon popped! Well… plus a few other reasons.
Let’s talk weather balloon!!!
It’s no small feat to send a weather balloon to space. And Oh BOY did we learn that!
First, we found a company that sold full kit weather balloons. This ended up being super helpful, since it came with a GPS unit, a computer that would track our altitude and temperature and a nice rig to build our GoPros, ice cream, and little Astrolyte buddies onto.
Locating a decent launch site is super important, and there are a lot of federal compliances to be aware of. We filed a Notam (Notice to Air Maintenance), learned aeronautical charts, how to calculate nautical miles and how to tell time in Zulu (the “world time”)!
When prepping a weather balloon, every gram added to your payload (what the balloon is carrying below the parachute) is important, every knot tied in the flight line is important; the exact time of launch, ground wind, jet streams, cloud cover, everything you can think of!
A weather balloon is filled with helium because helium is lighter than air and will cause the rise of the balloon. However! Once the balloon starts rising in the atmosphere, the surrounding pressure drops, the helium inside the balloon pushes outward (because now there’s less pushing it inward), and that push stretches the latex until the balloon pops!
For our experiment, the pop happened at 97,000 ft, just above our ozone, inside the inner layer of Stratosphere.
Thankfully, since we had our GPS unit attached, once the weather balloon began descending and crossed below 60,000 feet (our GPS unit works from 0-60k ft, so you lose signal for a period of time), we were able to track its location!
Before the launch we did our best to estimate where it would land. However our balloon was sent to the opposite side of the mountain range because the weather was unpredictable.(red dot is landing location)
That’s part of the fun of weather balloons, and if your kid is into space, they will love it as well. You calculate, you know so many tiny details, and have so much information but at the end of the day… you never really know where the winds will take you.
The winds that day took us two miles into Death Valley late at night. (What an ADVENTURE!)
But it worked! All our calculations (and some miscalculations), were well worth it. Even our Astrolytes made it back safely!
We learned a substantial amount, had a great time with our new Beaker Creature pals and who knows… maybe our safe landing was thanks to our Astrolyte buddies!
Teaching kids thankfulness and appreciation early is invaluable in today's world. Use these free and adorable "Thank You Card" printables to let someone know how much you appreciate them!
Teaching kids thankfulness and appreciation early is invaluable in today's world. Use these free and adorable "Thank You Card" printables to let someone know how much you appreciate them!
Everyone’s favorite snack is actually a scientific example of physical change. Popcorn itself wasn’t really invented, but discovered, and might have very well been at the first Thanksgiving feast. Let’s look a little deeper into this delicious discovery!
So What Makes Popcorn Pop?
Good zea mays everta, or popcorn kernels, seem dry and firm in plain sight. But inside each kernel is a tiny droplet of water surrounded by a hard shell called a hull. Popcorn can be heated by hot oil, air, or a microwave.The heat turns that water droplet into steam, building pressure inside the hull. Then – POP! – the hull can no longer keep in the pressure and the kernel explodes. The popping sound you hear is due to the rapid escape of water from the kernel.
Why Do Some Kernels Not Pop?
Simply put, there isn’t enough water in the kernel. A water droplet has to be present for that steam pressure to build up. Sometimes kernels are old and stale, or they become scorched during cooking.
All this popcorn talk has us hungry.
Below is a playful recipe for colorful popcorn balls to share with your hungry little scientists. As you make them, explain the science behind what makes popcorn pop. You can also teach your little ones basic color recognition with this rainbow treat!You will need:¾ cup light corn syrup¼ cup butter3 cups powdered sugar1 cup marshmallows2 teaspoons water2 teaspoons vanilla1/8 teaspoon salt20 cups of popped cornFood coloring of your choicePop your corn any way you choose. Over the stovetop is this household’s choice, but any way will work. If you choose to microwave, 20 cups is about three bags.Separate your popcorn evenly into how many food coloring choices you want. Here, there are six bowls uniformly distributed in order to make a rainbow.Combine the corn syrup, butter, powdered sugar, marshmallows, water, vanilla, and salt together over medium-high heat. Keep the mixture moving and bring to a slow boil.For adults only: Carefully pour the mixture evenly into each bowl of popcorn. The mixture is very hot, so let this one to the grown-ups. Use an ice scream scoop in an effort to keep the proportions even.Add about 2-3 drops of food coloring to each popcorn/syrup mix.Stir each bowl with a clean spoon so you don’t mix colors.Working fast, shape the balls before the syrup mixture cools. Spray your fingers with a non-stick spray to be able to shape each ball. You can make them as big or small as you’d like! Enjoy!
HAPPY POPPING!
The Science Behind Popcorn!
Everyone’s favorite snack is actually a scientific example of physical change. Popcorn itself wasn’t really invented, but discovered, and might have very well been at the first Thanksgiving feast. Let’s look a little deeper into this delicious discovery!
So What Makes Popcorn Pop?
Good zea mays everta, or popcorn kernels, seem dry and firm in plain sight. But inside each kernel is a tiny droplet of water surrounded by a hard shell called a hull. Popcorn can be heated by hot oil, air, or a microwave.The heat turns that water droplet into steam, building pressure inside the hull. Then – POP! – the hull can no longer keep in the pressure and the kernel explodes. The popping sound you hear is due to the rapid escape of water from the kernel.
Why Do Some Kernels Not Pop?
Simply put, there isn’t enough water in the kernel. A water droplet has to be present for that steam pressure to build up. Sometimes kernels are old and stale, or they become scorched during cooking.
All this popcorn talk has us hungry.
Below is a playful recipe for colorful popcorn balls to share with your hungry little scientists. As you make them, explain the science behind what makes popcorn pop. You can also teach your little ones basic color recognition with this rainbow treat!You will need:¾ cup light corn syrup¼ cup butter3 cups powdered sugar1 cup marshmallows2 teaspoons water2 teaspoons vanilla1/8 teaspoon salt20 cups of popped cornFood coloring of your choicePop your corn any way you choose. Over the stovetop is this household’s choice, but any way will work. If you choose to microwave, 20 cups is about three bags.Separate your popcorn evenly into how many food coloring choices you want. Here, there are six bowls uniformly distributed in order to make a rainbow.Combine the corn syrup, butter, powdered sugar, marshmallows, water, vanilla, and salt together over medium-high heat. Keep the mixture moving and bring to a slow boil.For adults only: Carefully pour the mixture evenly into each bowl of popcorn. The mixture is very hot, so let this one to the grown-ups. Use an ice scream scoop in an effort to keep the proportions even.Add about 2-3 drops of food coloring to each popcorn/syrup mix.Stir each bowl with a clean spoon so you don’t mix colors.Working fast, shape the balls before the syrup mixture cools. Spray your fingers with a non-stick spray to be able to shape each ball. You can make them as big or small as you’d like! Enjoy!
Check out these 3 customizable printables that focus on problem-solving, basic coding, and nutritional meals to keep the brain fueled for the year ahead!
Check out these 3 customizable printables that focus on problem-solving, basic coding, and nutritional meals to keep the brain fueled for the year ahead!
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-Develops fine motor skills- Can be used to reinforce early speech by practicing vowels and consonant sounds-Thinking of words that start with each letter of the alphabet- Great for teaching about similar and different attribute. How are they the same? How are they different?- Sort by color or letters
-Versatile, can be used in a variety of ways depending on sensory needs (My son uses them with water, in the pool, in the bath tub, with the garden hose)- Great for making wave bottles (oil, water, food coloring and make sure the caps are tight)- Perfect for sand and water tables- Introduce non-preferred sensory items, like unique textures or strong smells, in a non-threatening way- These are known as "calm down bottles"- great for relieving sensory overload- Can be given as rewards or motivators to encourage finishing non-preferred tasks
-Instant icebreaker, just throw the cubes and answer the questions-Easy game for peer groups, mentors, and buddies to play to get to get to know each other-Encourages social interaction and communication skills-Provides topics that promote personal interests, interaction, and discussion-Promotes social skills
-Encourages turn taking-Develops fine motor skills in a fun way by squeezing the frog-Squeezing can be soothing and relaxing (like a stress ball)-Helps teach attributes-Quick, easy game to play, no long instructions-Introduces early math concepts
Good zea mays everta, or popcorn kernels, seem dry and firm in plain sight. But inside each kernel is a tiny droplet of water surrounded by a hard shell called a hull. Popcorn can be heated by hot oil, air, or a microwave.The heat turns that water droplet into steam, building pressure inside the hull. Then – POP! – the hull can no longer keep in the pressure and the kernel explodes. The popping sound you hear is due to the rapid escape of water from the kernel.
Pop your corn any way you choose. Over the stovetop is this household’s choice, but any way will work. If you choose to microwave, 20 cups is about three bags.
Separate your popcorn evenly into how many food coloring choices you want. Here, there are six bowls uniformly distributed in order to make a rainbow.
Combine the corn syrup, butter, powdered sugar, marshmallows, water, vanilla, and salt together over medium-high heat. Keep the mixture moving and bring to a slow boil.
For adults only: Carefully pour the mixture evenly into each bowl of popcorn. The mixture is very hot, so let this one to the grown-ups. Use an ice scream scoop in an effort to keep the proportions even.
Add about 2-3 drops of food coloring to each popcorn/syrup mix.
Stir each bowl with a clean spoon so you don’t mix colors.
Working fast, shape the balls before the syrup mixture cools. Spray your fingers with a non-stick spray to be able to shape each ball. You can make them as big or small as you’d like! Enjoy!
