10 Top Learning Toys for Kids (Including Diverse Learners)
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It’s always win-win when you discover FUN learning toys for your kids, right? Like the toys from Learning Resources® that appeal to and engage with all children as well as the diverse group of learners on the autism spectrum. These toys and products are wonderfully open-ended, marvelously educational, and very long-lasting.
See if you agree about these fantastic learning toy choices for kids.
10 Top Learning Toys for Kids (Including Diverse Learners)
1. Gears, Gears, Gears® Robot Factory Building Set
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Ages 4+
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My testers LOVED this building set SO MUCH. If I hadn’t stopped them after an hour, they would have played for hours and hours! I’m so impressed, this kit is on the Coolest STEM Gifts for Kids list.
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Builds STEM skills, especially engineering.
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Develops a child’s understanding of sequential thought and problem-solving.
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Diverse Learners: Features spinning to self-soothe and help kids stay calm.
- Includes stickers.
- Combines with any other Gears! Gears! Gears! sets.
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BUY:
Learning Resources
Amazon
2. Primary Science Deluxe Lab Set
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Ages 3+
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Hands-on science learning.
- 20 activity cards with step-by-step directions.
- Diverse Learners: The tactile objects give children important physical input. It provides sensory stimulation without leading to overstimulation.
- 2 Flasks (round- and square-bottomed), 2 large test tubes and stand, eyedropper, 2 funnels, safety glasses, tall stand with adjustable holder clips, 2 twisty connector tubes, 3 stoppers, sensory tube with solid and vented lids, plus primary science view scope with observation dish. Includes 20 activity cards with step-by-step activities.
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BUY:
Learning Resources
Amazon
3. Color Cubed Strategy Game
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Ages 5+
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My testers were immediately engaged in this learning strategy game. They were so excited when I donated this game to their school so they could play it more.
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Diverse Learners: The game requires little language, but encourages interaction with turn-taking.
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Incorporates strong visual skills into gameplay
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Strengthens spatial and strategic thinking skills
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BUY:
Learning Resources
Amazon
4. Farmer’s Market Color Sorting Set
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Ages 3+
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Doesn’t this learning toy look SO FUN?! Practice color matching, addition, sorting, different foods, and critical thinking. (And pretend play, right?)
- Diverse Learners: Allows for order and prediction to be incorporated into play.
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Helps kids make the connection to symbolic play with realistic, familiar objects.
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Includes enough items to provide parallel play opportunities.
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BUY:
Learning Resources
Amazon
5. Tumble Trax™ Magnetic Marble Run
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Ages 3+
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This award-winning learning toy captures attention with motion and gets them problem solving and thinking creatively. Your kids will be engaged for hours.
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Promotes STEM thinking with engineering opportunities.
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Diverse Learner Benefits: Provides sensory stimulation.
- Includes 14 magnetic foam pieces, 4 marbles, and 10 Activity Cards.
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BUY:
Learning Resources
Amazon
6. Super Sorting Pie
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My own kids played with the Super Sorting Pie for YEARS and in many different ways.
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Develop your child’s fine motor skills with this fantastic learning toy.
- Learn sorting, counting, and colors.
- Diverse Learners: Helps kids on the spectrum stay focused and in control with small pieces that can double as fidget items.
- Includes 60 soft, rubber counters (7 fruits in 5 different colors), plastic pie plate with cover, jumbo pinchers, and removable divider.
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Offers a visual, concrete means to learn mathematics
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BUY:
Learning Resources
Amazon
7. Ruff ’s House Teaching Tactile Set
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Ages 3+
- Kids just love this fun search and grab game! Me, too if I’m being honest.
- Practice counting, addition, subtraction, matching, and tactile awareness.
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Diverse Learners: Provides different textures for kids who require more stimulation. Helps kids self-soothe with small pieces that can be used as fidget toys.
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Assists kids with learning adjectives when they feel and see textures and colors.
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BUY:
Learning Resources
Amazon
8. Froggy Feeding Fun
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Ages 3+
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This makes developing fine motor skills into a fun game that asks kids to squeeze the frog and pick up colorful flies.
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Highly recommended by occupational therapists to help develop fine motor muscles.
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Diverse Learners: Encourages bilateral coordination—children can grasp the frog with one hand and feed it with the other. Helps establish a dominant hand and support cognitive organization and helps keep tight fists open.
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Flies can be used to create AB patterning (e.g. red, blue, red, blue).
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Reinforces both numbers and counting skills using the number symbol (e.g. “2”) together with a representation – (e.g. 2 flies).
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BUY:
Learning Resources
Amazon
9. Avalanche Fruit Stand
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Ages 3+
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Kids love this multi-faceted game with both learning and pretend play opportunities.
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Fine Motor Development: Tweezers guide proper finger placement to practice pincer grasp and engage hand muscle strength needed for daily living activities like brushing teeth or using a pencil. Eye-hand coordination and depth perception are engaged while precision and control are promoted to pluck or place fruits on the stand
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Social & Behavioral: Encourages pretend play opportunities with peers through turn taking, patience and cooperative play.
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BUY:
Learning Resources
Amazon
10. Primary Science Sensory Tubes
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Ages 2+
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Encourage scientific exploration.
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Diverse Learners: Provides different tactile objects without a child needing to physically touch them. Offers sensory stimulation without leading to overstimulation. Presents kids with a way to calm or self-soothe during stressful situations
- Fill tubes with interesting objects to observe and explore.
- BUY:
Learning Resources
Amazon
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DISCLOSURE: I worked with Learning Resources on this article. They also sent me several products to test with kids. All opinions are my own.
