Building blocks and construction toys are a staple in the toy boxes of preschool age children, but do you know the benefits of block play for babies and toddlers? Blocks are perhaps the most basic kinds of toys, but they're anything but boring. Updated June 16, 2017. These building toys are powerful learning tools to help develop motor skills, hand-eye coordination, language skills, cognitive flexibility, social competence, spatial skills, engineering skills, and even the mathematical skills of children. You could also add pieces of cardboard, or other materials and shapes, for building bridges and tunnels. Building blocks can help to strengthen toddler’s fingers and hands. —Linda Taylor National Association for the Education of Young Children. Blocks of Fun! Look, Listen, Learn. But, what exactly? Right from newborns to preschoolers, all kids enjoy playing with blocks, the only difference being their changing perception with respect to their age. Initiate conversation as you play together to promote language skills and to promote cognitive development. researchers proved that children who play with blocks when they are three, four and fives years of age will do better in math, especially Algebra in middle school. “We Are Power Rangers!” Learning from Children’s Dramatic Play. Also, blocks usually come in various sizes that can be stacked in many different arrangements. While looks like they’re ‘just playing’ they’re also using their fine motor skills, being creative, thinkin about patterns and math concepts and using their imagination. In this case, allow the work to stand so they can continue to manipulate and admire it. Block play is a traditional activity for toddlers but one that never loses it appeal. We did this long, long ago with George (see below) and this time, Louis got a turn. Read our detailed post on the benefits of block play. Building with blocks is a child-led activity. Including a variety of different sizes and textures of blocks will support sensory play as well sorting and building. Get expert tips to help your kids stay healthy and happy. Creativity – Blocks are loose parts, meaning children are free to combine and recombine them in countless ways. Science. Your toddler will enjoy stacking a tower of blocks as high as possible and then watching what happens when they knock them down. Don't discourage your child from knocking down her creations - it's part of the learning process, but make sure that they learn to respect others' creations. Turns out, kids can learn a lot from these simple toys. Through block play, children build skills in social-emotional, physical (fine and gross motor), language, creative, and cognitive development domains. Blocks can be tossed into a large container or stacked neatly on a shelf. When your baby first starts playing with blocks, show her some fun activities, like dropping the blocks into a plastic bowl or container and then pouring them out. 6. Problem Solving. They also begin to stack and form the first simple towers as they explore cause and effect, spatial awareness and balance. Choose a low traffic area (to prevent accidental block knockdowns) to sit down with your child. Structured block play may enhance cognitive flexibility. An exception to this rule might be if your toddler is in the middle of an ongoing project or has trouble dismantling a creation. Blocks enhance children’s problem-solving abilities, mathematics skills, and language and literacy abilities. 3. More toddler activities to do at home can be found HERE. Developmental Milestones: Fine Motor Skills and Visual Motor Skills. “We Are Power Rangers!” Learning from Children’s Dramatic Play. Stephanie Brown is a parenting writer with experience in the Head Start program and in NAEYC accredited child care centers. As your baby will grow more confident, they will initiate their own block towers. Roll A Block Tower This is a fun game to play with your toddlers and preschoolers to strengthen their counting and fine motor skills. These surfaces will also cushion the blocks, especially wood blocks. Toddlers love to carry blocks all over the place and can be very creative with putting them in and out of different materials to make this easier! Simply providing the materials will spark imagination and hands-on engagement. When I was in the classroom, I often heard questions about the benefits of block play, so I thought it would be fun to show off our new blocks with some developmental toddler block play … They promote problem solving skills and introduce children to beginning math concepts. The beauty of blocks is that the “play is in the child” not in the toy. This encourages their artistic creativity! Most of the blocks are 1.5 inch squares, cut from a piece of wood left over from a home renovation project. Whether blocks are wood, plastic or foam, providing block play promotes growth of developmental skills through hands-on fun and learning. Start with some snap-together blocks like the Building Toys for Toddlers – Plus Plus® BIG and a die. The best blocks to start with are open-ended rather than those that come in sets that must be used to construct a specific object. You can encourage your child to knock the blocks down so you can start over. From the big kids to the toddlers, everyone has been having a lot of fun and a lot of learning has been going on as well. Don’t underestimate the humble blocks! Conclusion. This means less noise, and less sliding around on a slippery floor, when blocks topple. Early on, assist your child with proper clean-up and insist that blocks be put away based on your house rules, whether that rule is to clean them up before getting another toy out or that all toys must be picked up at the end of the day. Stacking, counting and sorting are all part of the fun and learning when playing with blocks. It's usually Sara and Jonathan playing with blocks, but now Anna joins in on the fun as well. Elaine Hinzey is a fact checker, writer, researcher, and registered dietitian. Your email address will not be published. Dramatic Play with Blocks. Discourage your toddler from throwing blocks. Blockaroo Magnetic Foam Building Blocks - STEM Construction Toys for Boys and Girls, Soft Foam Blocks Develop Early Learning Skills, The Ultimate Bath Toys for Toddlers & Kids - … You can also make a homemade set of blocks as shown here. Your toddler and her playgroup gang may all build with blocks, for … The goal is to see who can build the tallest tower before the blocks run out. Large foam blocks in different shapes, sizes, and colors are the safest for young toddlers who are learning to throw things. Using blocks, children can piece together shapes to create a bigger picture, whether it is a representation of something they have seen or from their imagination. When associative play emerges, toddlers begin to share playthings. Your email address will not be published. And constructing “creations” builds selfesteem and feelings of success. The benefits your child stands to gain while playing with blocks are indeed so plentiful … There’s a variety of sizes of blocks included in this block play. If you enjoyed this easy toddler block play activity you might like to share some photos or tell us about it in our Facebook Group or over on Instagram (follow @myboredtoddler and use #myboredtoddler so we can see). Interacting with and stacking building blocks or nesting cups is a sign that your child has developed good hand eye coordination. Block play requires fine and gross motor skills. Jamie Grill / The Image Bank / Getty Images. It is so fun to watch the … If your child loves blocks, I have tons of block activities for them to do!. Make sure your toddler doesn't climb onto possibly unstable block structures. The issue with blocks is that there are just so many of them. As your child grows, consider more complex sets like Duplo and Waffle Blocks, but remember: these can be limiting and frustrating as beginner sets. Block play is one of the simplest and most rewarding activities you can provide for early learners and it’s such a cheap activity too! Toddlers and preschoolers love playing with blocks. Dramatic play and creativity go hand in hand when playing with blocks. Cardboard bricks are also always a hit, and you can make them yourself. Your toddler's large, foam blocks will soon become Legos that become a scourge to the soles of parents' feet. Childhood 101 goes into some specifics of adding literacy to the block corner, and Picklebums gives us a little insight on why block play is so important to kids. Building blocks or toy blocks refer to solid shapes made of wood or plastic that are used for construction play. 5. physical development – Block play promotes the development of spatial awareness and develops hand-eye coordination as children reach for, lift, move and build with blocks, strengthening their fingers, hands and arms. Start with a small number of blocks so kids are not overwhelmed by the amount of play materials. Since they are open-ended, children can turn them into whatever they can imagine. If you have different shaped blocks, you can use a construction paper guide to help your child stack them at clean-up time. You can easily introduce colorful small toys such as animals or vehicles to the play. 7 stages of block play: Building and early learning.
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