Winter 2013

A special needs toy guide

Winter 2013

Dear Friends and Families,

Another season has come and gone and I find myself

once again writing to you. It’s an exciting feeling to be honest.

Then again, anything worth doing, anything that makes you happy

and leaves you feeling fulfilled should make you excited. I’ve learned

a lot over the past year, and I hope that will always be the case. I

never want to get to a point where I feel like I know it all, or there is

nothing left to learn. I want Alphae to continue to grow, to learn,

and to continue to give families the tools and help they need.

No matter your beliefs I want to wish you a happy holiday. This is my favorite time of the year. Soon the house will be smelling of pie and gingerbread houses. My son and I will pull out our Christmas tree and we will take hours to pick out the perfect theme and attempt to make our tree look like the ones in Macy’s. We’ll spend Thanksgiving with my parents and I’ll prepare the entire meal as I relieve the nostalgia of my cooking days.

Birthdays will be had, presents will be wrapped, and my mother will inevitably fill the house with those awful spicy cinnamon smelling candles. Ever bit of it is wonderful.

As the days pass you’ll notice the store will start to brim with new toys. We’re diving into science this year. Quiet books filled with plant and animal cells for the discerning toddler, strawberry cakes for the up and coming chef, tic-tac-toe for those long rides to grandma’s house. We are also growing our social networking presence, offering DIYs and showcasing the friends that have followed along from the beginning. It has become a great place to share stories, share ideas, and showcase our new toys as we chug along.

I want to say thank you. Thank you for trusting us as a resource for special needs advocacy, education, and most importantly, as a toy source for your child. I hope each of you enjoy your holiday with those that love you the best.

What makes Alphae different?

Sincerely, Danielle

Alphae knows. We know what it feels like to want toys that are going to help your child, but you don’t know where to start. We know what it feels like to find something beautiful and useful, but it is out of your price range. We know what it feels like to find out your child is going to need a little more attention than you planned for and not know who to turn to.

Our company understands on a personal level and that is why each and every day we strive to give you our best. Even if you do not buy from us, we want you to be lead in the direction of someone who can help you. We promise to uphold our standards, to be creative, to keep our toys beautiful, and to always be eco-friendly and as allergen free as possible so you can worry about more important things.

Contents Arts and crafts 3-8 Life Skills 9-16 Cognition 17-24 Sensory 25-29

Arts&Crafts Instilling arts and crafts into your child’s daily life is essential to their growth. Nonverbal children can especially benifit from the emotional relief that comes with being able to express theirselves through art. Not only does art stimulate a child’s imagination, but it also helps them reflect on their surroundings and lets others in on their prespective. While an educational focused life is fantastic, we must also feed their creativity and let them grow into the people they are meant to be.

Mosaic Tiles Any form of art is significant to a child’s creativity and their self-esteem, but mosaic tiles go beyond that. This large 49 piece puzzle encourages children to work in groups and helps fine tune problem solving through pattern building and recognition.

Your child will gain confidence as they begin to build more complicated patterns or pictures. Easy to play with, soft, oversized, and easy to put away, mosaic tiles make an ideal imagination stimulant for your child.

$45

“When you give a child the tools to create art, you’re allowing them to explore possibility. You are giving them an outlet to express emotions they may be to shy to say. Esentially you are saying ‘it is ok to be yourself ’”

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Jewelry kit

Encourage your child’s unique individuality and creativity through this jewelry set. Perfect for a variety of ages from toddler to tween. Threading is perfect for hand eye coordination, while painting the beads creates an outlet for creativity. This set is also great for for young children developing their beading skills and hand eye coordination. $20 Encourages: Art skills, Individuality, Hand eye coordination, Imagination

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Let your princess really shine in this crown making set! Let her invite her royal court, or use it at a princess themed party. All you need is a little glue, and a lot of imagination! $15 Encourages: Imagination Social skills Pretend and role play

This Decorate It Yourself playset is perfect for on the go fun! Encourage your little one to paint the landscape they believe these magical creatures live in with the included paint and brushes. Imagination and focus is built as they create a hideout for their fun new friends. $15 blahblahblahblahblahblabhlahbladfioadfngoifdlkgnaoifdngg Encourages: Art skills Imagination and pretend Story telling Hand eye coordination

Arts & Crafts

Make a family art kit Our natural wood set encourages children to use their imagination to paint their family or playmates for their dollhouse. Engage your child by making them tell you a story about their family. All of the pieces tuck away into our carry along box. $8 Encourages: Imagination, Art development, Story telling, Hand eye coordination

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Molding Dough

Have fun developing your child’s grasping and cognitive development with this fun scented dough set. Molding dough can help your child develop the muscles in the hands which are essential for writing. Playing with dough can also have a calming affect on children when they are feeling especially upset or stressed. $8 Encourages: Imitation, Problem solving, Cognitive development Muscle development, Emotional development, Social Skills Imagination

Arts & Crafts

Life Skills

Developing life skills can fill a child with a sense of pride.

Brushing your teeth, tying your laces, or learning fractions are all life skills carried into adulthood. Reinforcing life skills development is essential any child. Teaching your child necessary life skills enables special needs children to live and work in the community independently. They provide the foundation for academic achievement, daily living, socialization, and occupational skills. By allowing your child to imitate cooking, holding a baby gently, or standard social norms through play, you are providing them with a variety of life skills. Children are happy and eager to learn new skills that they will be able to use throughout their life.

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Wood Playset A durable food collection introduces children to fruits and eggs. Made for older children, this food set encourages role play, which is important when developing a sense of self. Fruit encourages healthy food choices, while imagination and social skills are engaged. $35

“Our children are constantly watching us, mimicking our actions, wanting to be just like us. Let us take this opportunity our best possible selves. “

Grocery Set

Social skills, sharing, and role play will all be practiced when your child plays with our grocery set.

You will receive each portion of a balanced food pyramid, encouraging healthy food choices. Toss it all into your eco-friendly grocery bags to enjoy hours of fun! $210

World Play Mat

How much fun would it be to have the world at your hands? Now you can have just that and learn a few things along the way. This roll out mat encourages children to place the continents in their correct position and label them with the correct name. Included in the set are question cards that will help your child learn a little more about each continent.

You may learn something along the way too! $125

Lunch Time Playset

Lunch time has never been so much fun! Make quesadillas, a sandwich, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or enjoy some pizza. While we are all about being healthy, sometimes it’s fun to induldge yourself.

Reinforces social skills, and role play. $25

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Yoyo $5

Felt macaroon playset $8

wood macaroon playset $6

bowling set $12

camera $8

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3 1. sum’bunny $25-A great first companion for

any new addition, bunny’s simple design and soft texture is the perfect balance in simplicity and imagination.

Stuffed animals encourage imagination, story development through language, and are perfect for selfsoothing.

2. Otto $75-Introduce this whimsical woodland

creature into your life! Otto is made from high-quality eco-friendly materials and bamboo stuffing. Spot-clean to remove stains. Measures approximately 15.5 x 5 inches

3. Madison $75-Michelle was cool before it was

cool. Michelle is made from high-quality eco-friendly materials and bamboo stuffing. Spot-clean to remove stains. Recommended for kids 3 years and older Measures approximately 15.5 x 5 inches

4. Michelle $75-Madison loves to read and

wear bright colors. Madison is made from high-quality eco-friendly materials and bamboo stuffing. Spot-clean to remove stains. Recommended for kids 3 years and older

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Measures approximately 15.5 x 5 inches

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5. Chloe $75-Chloe is quite the fashionista. Chloe is made from high-quality eco-friendly materials and bamboo stuffing. Spot-clean to remove stains. Recommended for kids 3 years and older Measures approximately 15.5 x 5 inches

Play Tent

Built for hours of fun, the simple construction of our A frame tent is a great hideaway for pretend play, or a permanent structure inside home as a reading nook or playhouse. Give your child a space of their own where they can feel safe and comfortable using their imagination or simply reading a book. $125 15 alphaetoys.storenvy.com

Cognition

>What is cognition and why is it important?

acorn sorting set

Cognition is simply put, the process of thinking. This is how your child processes language and math skills, and where their attention and memory is developed. The toys within this category were chosen to help develop your child’s thinking processes, complex decision making, and work with your child’s special needs. Whether you would like to help develop your child’s memory through our matching games, or work on their phonetic recognition with our block and flash card set, we have the tools you need to help your child learn at a pace that is comfortable for both of you.

Enjoy education built around your child.

$20

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Wood Stacker Beautifully crafted eco-friendly wood stacker is ideal for early learning and development. Engages problem solving and fine motor skills. Challenging enough to entertain young children who are learning to grasp and explore items around them. $15

Stacking Spools Develop your child’s hand eye coordination with our stacking spools.

Perfectly sized for toddlers, our spools help them focus and think critically about what shape will fit next. Bright colors engage children and the different textures and shapes engage their senses. $8

Blocks Develop curiosity and logic through play. Blocks engage children and encourage a desire to construct. Oversized shapes built from beautifully grained wood are perfect for special needs children, especially those prone to placing toys in their mouths. $10

Matching Birds Mix up the matching game by using picture recognition. A little more advanced than our color matching games, children must memorize the position of each bird making it a fun challenge you can both enjoy. Builds memory, color recognition, and picture identification. $8

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Geometric shapes $10

Tangram $15

Threading set $5 Alphabet tiles $8

Matching tiles $8

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Pattern blocks

Let your child discover patterns and colors with these hand painted pattern blocks. Each side has been painstakingly painted with a variety of shapes to enable pattern making. From chevrons to triangles, to abstract shapes and colors, this block set will make hundreds of various shapes and designs. $45 Encourages: Problem solving Cognitive development Shape recognition Imagination

Math Tiles

Introduce math basics with our math tiles. Two of each number helps with simple one number equations, or for the more advanced child, double digit addition or subtraction. $8

Animal Mask First in a new series, this giraffe mask will have your child busy pretending and asking questions. Tucked away in one of our beautiful drawstring bags our giraffe mask also comes with question cards so you can both learn more. $20

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Sensory

Most children’s sensory development begins from the moment they are brought into the world. However, some children with special needs are under responsive to sensory development and the need for sensory sensations can be an intense feeling. Using sensory toys can help with this aspect and provide them with the sensory sensations they are craving. For sensory seekers it is important to have toys that fulfill this developmental need.

Different textures, sounds, and rolling movement can help with this process. For special needs children, exploring the world through taste, sight, sound, and touch encourages exploration and interest in their surroundings that can otherwise go unfulfilled.

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Sensory Set

(Includes rattle, egg with cup, ring, and beaded teether)- A great gift set for encouraging sensory development. Learning is engaged through sight, touch, and taste. Cause and affect, as well as critical thinking.This sensory development set is perfect for new borns engaging in grasping and sensory development through taste and touch. The rattle teaches cause and affect, while the ring, beaded teething rope, and ellipse encourage exploration through taste. $35

Fruit Rattles

Perfect for little hands and great as a first food set these little rattles are a sensory treasure. A bumpy outside and wool leaves are great for teething babies, or children looking for sensory stimulation, while the inside holds a small bell that will jingle when shaken. $35

Hand Kite Encourage movement and exercise with a simple handkite. As your child dances across the room, swinging their arms around them, the long ribbon dances behind them in a rainbow affect. $8

Sensory Cube Our soft sensory cube offers baby a variety of different textures and ribbons to explore and pull on. An excellent toy for tossing, teething, or grabbing. Helps baby develop their fine motor skills and is filled with eco-friendly bamboo stuffing. Toss our cube and listen to it jingle! $14

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Bunny Teether An adorable alternative to chemically filled plastic teethers, our modern wooden Cotton Tail Teether gives baby a variety of textures to sooth aching gums. Baby soft ears are removable and can be tossed in the wash for easy clean up. The wood ring can be used with the ears, or alone for sensory fun.

No snaps or choking hazards in our teether! $12 Encourages: grasping soothes cutting teeth sensory development hand eye coordination

Teething rings Naturally antimicrobial wood is the best alternative to plastic teethers that may leech chemicals into your baby, especially when they are frozen and thawed which speeds up the process. Invigorate your child’s natural curiosity by engaging their sensory development through taste. $5

website: alphaetoys.storenvycom Social media: Facebook.com/alphaetoys @alphaetoys blog: alphaetoysllc.blogspot.com catalogs: http://issuu.com/dannismith d.montalvo@alphaetoys.com 517.605.6405

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