Playing with blocks not only brings hours of enjoyment but also lots of great learning opportunities.
Motor development: Children develop large motor skills by lifting and carrying
hollow blocks, stretching to put a block atop a tower, and returning blocks to
the shelves when they finish using them. They refine small muscle skills when
they turn an arch around to fit on the end of a rectangular block, set up animal
and people props, and roll a ball or vehicle down a ramp.
Hand-eye coordination: Building with blocks requires careful hand-eye coordination. To
balance a tower, a child must carefully place blocks on top of each other.
Likewise, putting a final decoration atop a construction requires balance and
coordination.
Math vocabulary: Teachers and parents can introduce words about spatial
relationships: under, over, through, on top of, and inside. And, they can
introduce shape-related words represented by the blocks: arch, triangle,
rectangle, square, and cylinder.
Architecture and engineering:
To build tall and complex structures that don’t topple over, young builders apply principles of architecture and engineering, such as
• Bases of structures must be stable
• Structures must be balanced
• Ramps are strong when they are supported
• Columns can support arches and bridge spans
• Tunnels will collapse if they are not built into well-supported structures
• Long unit blocks and strong hollow blocks are best for framing foundations.
Motor development: Children develop large motor skills by lifting and carrying
hollow blocks, stretching to put a block atop a tower, and returning blocks to
the shelves when they finish using them. They refine small muscle skills when
they turn an arch around to fit on the end of a rectangular block, set up animal
and people props, and roll a ball or vehicle down a ramp.
Hand-eye coordination: Building with blocks requires careful hand-eye coordination. To
balance a tower, a child must carefully place blocks on top of each other.
Likewise, putting a final decoration atop a construction requires balance and
coordination.
Math vocabulary: Teachers and parents can introduce words about spatial
relationships: under, over, through, on top of, and inside. And, they can
introduce shape-related words represented by the blocks: arch, triangle,
rectangle, square, and cylinder.
Architecture and engineering:
To build tall and complex structures that don’t topple over, young builders apply principles of architecture and engineering, such as
• Bases of structures must be stable
• Structures must be balanced
• Ramps are strong when they are supported
• Columns can support arches and bridge spans
• Tunnels will collapse if they are not built into well-supported structures
• Long unit blocks and strong hollow blocks are best for framing foundations.