Stages Learning Materials, creators of the top-selling autism education product, the Language Builder Picture Cards, releases new Language Builder® Blocks with free app for iPhone and iPad.
CAMBRIDGE, MA – October 14, 2016
Blocks have stood the test of time and have earned an irreplaceable role in early childhood education. The hours of learning-by-doing that blocks afford children are priceless. Blocks ask children to draw upon and expand problem-solving abilities, tap into spatial sense and motor abilities, and lay a foundation for mathematics and story-telling, and more.
While blocks have maintained a constant presence, at the same time, educators and parents have turned to tablets, laptops, and smart phones. Educational expertise, combined with appropriate technology, can produce products that are more inclusive and responsive to the learning and development needs of all children.
“We were intrigued by the idea of combining traditional blocks with meaningful technology,” said CEO of Stages Learning Materials, Angela Nelson. “We were committed to creating a product that unabashedly celebrated the joys of childhood—self-discovery, play and imagination — in combination with curricular or programming needs of a one-on-one autism or ABA therapy program.”
The block set can be used without the App and comes with 100 unique picture cards of randomly created structures for children to recreate. The cards show images ranging from structures comprised of 1-40 blocks to meet a wide range of abilities. Twenty of the cards have “Pretend Play” pictures of structures made to look like other objects – animals, foods, transportation, and other commonly seen everyday objects.
Working with graduate students from the Technology, Innovation and Education Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the team at Stages designed the Language Builder® Blocks App that can be used to enhance traditional block building play and exploration. With the free App that works on iPhone or iPad, children can create and add their own structures so sessions and plans can be completely customized. They can also access hundreds of additional structure images and use a child-friendly block-building timer to add more challenge to the block building activity.
About Stages Learning Materials
Stages Learning Materials was founded by a UCLA-trained ABA Therapist in 1997, when autism diagnoses first began to rise. Its top-selling autism education product, the Language Builder Picture Cards, was designed to specifically meet the learning needs of the individual with autism. The Language Builder Series has become a staple in home and school programs across the world. Today, Stages offers a full range of real photo-based products as well as numerous Apps including the Language Builder App. Visit www.stageslearning.com for more information.
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Media contact: Angela Nelson: (530) 892-1112; angela@stageslearning.com