Project Blocks – final report (August 13, 2013)
The Pierce County Library System Project BLOCKS block project, funded by the Pierce
County Library Foundation has been completed and the results have been compiled using
both the Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills for 2012-2013,
(WaKIDS), and follow-up anecdotal interviews with the participating Washington State’s
Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) teachers and coordinators.
Wooden blocks provide children with so much more than entertainment! Block play has
been shown to enhance children's social-emotional and physical development, language
and literacy skills, scientific thinking, understandings in social studies and the arts, and
dispositions toward learning.1. Block play is a developmental tool that allows children
and families to not only increase their language and literacy skills by interacting with
each other through free play using blocks, but is also instrumental in Science Technology
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) development in early learning.2. Block play is a
research based learning method in early childhood education. Children use blocks to
recreate experiences that they have had. It could be recreating a visit to the zoo, or
traveling by bus to the store. Children use blocks to control and manage their
environment. Research has shown that block play itself has developmental stages that
children must move through beginning with the tote and carry stage, followed by
beginning to build, bridging with blocks, creating enclosures and finally representational
building.3. Each of these stages is enhanced by the child to child (peer to peer)
communication that occurs and the child/adult interaction. These connections lead to
both enhanced social emotional development and language acquisition.4.
The following is a description of how the project evolved.
In October 2012 cabinets and blocks were purchased for seven libraries: Fife, Gig
Harbor, Key Center, Lakewood, Parkland, South Hill, Sumner.
In November 2012 seven librarians and library staff, ECEAP staff at seven sites, along
with two ECEAP coordinators from the Puget Sound ESD was trained on the research
around the value of block play in early learning, and how to observe children using
WaKIDS objectives that related to block play. Each staff person received a copy of the
Project Blocks notebook and The Block Book, 3rd edition by Elizabeth Hirsch.
1. Block Blog 1: What Does the Research Say?, posted by Judy Ballweg,
Spetember 16, 2012.
2. Early Math Skills – Building Blocks for the Future, by Harriet Shaklee, Ph.D.,
Patricia O’Hara, M.S., Diane Demarest, M.Ed., University of Idaho Extension
Research Brief, March 2008, pgs. 3-4.
3. Fairy Dust Teaching.com/2011/03/developmental-stages-of-block-play.html, by
Sally Haughey, March 15, 2011.
4. Effect of Block Play on Language Acquisition and Attention in Toddlers by Dr.
Dimitri Christakis, Zimmerman, Frederick & Garrison, Michelle, Journal of
American Medical Association, October 2007.
Beginning in January 2013 seven library sites engaged with eight ECEAP classes (Fife
had two classes from the same program on two different days).
Each class scheduled a monthly visit to the library to engage in open block play. These
visits occurred between January and May, 2013. Several locations incorporated the
monthly ECEAP parent meeting into the event so that parents drove their children to the
library then stayed and engaged in block play with their children. Some sites used school
transportation to bring the children, using the bus experience as another language
development opportunity.
At each event children were greeted by library staff who offered a short storytime with
books that could be related to using blocks. Librarians were provided with a list of
potential titles suitable for this program and they continued to add titles to the master list
throughout the series.
Librarians were instructed to make some kind of connection between the book or books
shared and building with blocks. The connection could be thinking about locations or
specific structures, or pointing out an activity that could be recreated with blocks.
Librarians were provided with add-ons such as wooden vehicles of various types, animals
both from the wild and from the farm, scarves, clothes pins, clip boards, measuring tapes
and enlarged photos of buildings or structures to mount on meeting room walls.
Children were then given free rein to build whatever they chose.
Children were given only two rules to follow.
Rule #1: No throwing blocks
Rule #2: No destruction of anyone else’s structure.
At the second monthly visit each participating child was also given a set of 100 small
blocks from Melissa & Doug toymakers to take home and use with parents and siblings at
home along with several handouts for parents about block play and suggestions for using
blocks at home.
Throughout the months of library events, photos were taken of the children’s play.
In May, a second training session was held with librarians, library staff, ECEAP teachers
and coordinators and the PCLS Early Learning team. The session debriefed what had
occurred, what worked and could use improvement and what next with regards to block
play and the partnership between ECEAP sites and their local library.
In July, the Puget Sound Educational Service District (ESD) provided WaKIDS results
for the sites. Data from the classroom observations from fall 2012 and spring 2013 was
compared to determine whether or not children met the stated objectives of 80% of all
children being measured either at or above “color” level in the appropriate areas.
Goals

Give every young child the opportunity to participate in block play (a research tested way
for children to increase language skills and develop early science concepts). Children in
seven ECEAP sites (8 classes) participated in a monthly library event where block play
was the primary objective. Each participating child received a set of blocks to take home
and use with their family. Each ECEAP class used their classroom blocks on a regular
basis to engage their students. With the equipment in place, each library facility may now
offer targeted programs to child cares and families to allow every child in the community
the opportunity to participate in block play.

Increase children’s languages skills and develop science, technology, engineering and
math—“STEM”—concepts in children. Based on the results reported in Teaching
Strategies GOLD for WaKIDS, each classroom demonstrated an increase in language
skills and math related skills. Block play contributed to this increase.

Enrich the Library’s early learning initiatives to the community it serves. The project to
bring block play to every eligible library facility has now been fully funded by two
additional foundations. This additional funding will allow 16 of the 18 PCLS locations to
offer block play. The remaining two locations lack adequate storage facilities. Each of
these branches now has an additional early learning tool to offer to their community.

Provide feedback to ECEAP to improve block play’s recognition as a strong and viable
early learning method. The final debrief with ECEAP teachers and coordinators clearly
demonstrated that block play is recognized as a strong viable early learning tool.
Participating classrooms have already requested to participate again in a similar program
in the year 2013-14, and additional sites have requested to be allowed to participate. 16
of the 18 library facilities are being fitted for block centers to allow more sites to
participate. (See May 2013 debrief document).

Improve preparation to succeed at school. Based on the spring 2013 WaKIDS results
these 4/5 year old children are positively working towards a successful transition to
kindergarten and school success. (See WaKIDS classroom results).
Objectives

Work with ESD to develop a curriculum for our libraries to provide “block”
programming as part of Early Learning in the libraries.

Fund the project from Foundation Early Learning funds.

Implement the block project at 7 locations.

Branches are engaged in block play and delivering good service to participants.

Kids are having fun!! (And learning!)

Report project success.
The above stated objectives have all been met.
Measurement
80% of all children within the participating ECEAPs will be at or above “color” level as
measured in WaKIDS assessment in areas appropriate to block play at the end of the project.
(WaKIDS is the Washington State mandated assessment tool for preschoolers that measures
progressions of development and learning.)
Classroom measurements occurred in the following seven domains: social emotional, physical –
gross motor, physical – fine motor, language, cognitive, literacy and mathematics. With the
exception of mathematics each domain exceeded the stated measurement goal of 80% of all
children at or above “color” level.
Social emotional = 96%
Physical – gross motor = 96%
Physical – fine motor = 98%
Language = 84%
Cognitive = 90%
Literacy = 92%
Mathematics = 65% (based on the 2012-13 statewide results participating children
showed the same level of development as typical 3 – 5 year old preschoolers) and
was better than the number of children statewide who demonstrated proficiency in
math entering kindergarten.)
2012-2013 Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS)
Statewide report card
Percent of Students who Demonstrate Characteristics of Entering
Kindergartners
Number
Percent
Social-Emotional
15,631
74.2%
Physical
16,196
78.5%
Language
13,459
65.5%
Cognitive
14,611
70.5%
Literacy
14,291
72.1%
Math
10,539
51.7%