Why Should My Child Play with Blocks?
By Sherri Meyer
As parents, we all want our children to grow and learn and be ready for school. Parents
can often be heard saying such things as, “All they do is play – they can’t be learning
anything!” In reality, playing is how children learn! They learn best when they are
interacting with toys and materials that can be turned over in their hands, stacked and
knocked over. This helps children experience the science of gravity and learn how to
work with other children.
Block play can offer a child all academic areas that we as parents
would like our child to know and experience. Through playing with
blocks, children learn math skills, art, social studies, science, preliteracy, socialization, and they are able to practice their developing
physical abilities.
The chart below lists some of the concepts children learn when
playing with blocks. This is not a complete list but will provide a
summary of what children can learn.
Math
Science
Art
Literacy
Shapes
Size
Tall/short
Recognize some numbers
Count
How long, wide, or deep blocks may be
Measurement
Sorting like blocks together
One-to-one correspondence
Gravity
Problem solving (what happens when the large block is on top verses
being on the bottom)
Cause and effect
Develop observation skills
Force
Balance
Discovering
Patterns
Creativity
Designs of block creations
Symmetry (being equal)
Appreciation for other’s work
“Reading” street signs or words on cars
117 Jones Jaggers Hall 1906 College Heights Blvd #11098 Bowling Green, KY 42101-1098
270-745-2216 or 800-621-5908 Fax: 270-745-7089
Email: ccrr.expert@wku.edu
Web: http://www.wku.edu/ccrr-wku/
Predicting what will happen and then testing the prediction
Using language to describe their creation - vocabulary
Physical
Finger control
Development Eye-hand coordination
Awareness of their body in space
Balancing their body as they squat or bend
Moving their body in space without knocking their block construction
down
Social
Awareness of community (people added in the block play)
Studies
People and their work
“Reading” maps (provide your child with a map!)
Role playing as they drive a car or make a zoo
Social and
Independence
Emotional
Cooperating with peers and adults
Making choices
Self- confidence
Working with others
Blocks can be expensive so here are a few ideas about using items already in your
home as blocks for your child, as well as a few activity ideas related to blocks.
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Cover boxes with paper that you would normally throw away or recycle to make
cardboard blocks. Your child can stack them and even decorate them,
depending on the type of covering you use.
Use shoe boxes or tissue boxes to decorate. Connect each box with yarn and
turn the boxes into a train. Use toys, dolls, and animals to put into your child’s
train to pull around the room.
Do you have large boxes your child can crawl in to? Wonderful if you do! Your
child will learn to crawl inside and crawl through. This teaches them about
spatial awareness.
Using boxes with a lid such as small shoe boxes, cover them and put a number
on the bottom, inside of the box. On top of the lid, draw or use stickers for the
same amount as the number on the inside of the box. For example, if on the
inside of the box is the number 4, on the outside of the lid would be 4 stickers.
Your child would then put 4 buttons or rocks into the box. Encourage your child
to match the buttons or rocks to the sticker to be sure he/she has the correct
number. This is called one-to-one correspondence.
When your child is stacking blocks, ask him/her how many blocks tall their
structure is!
Using an oatmeal canister, cut out a portion of the cylinder to create a tunnel to
use with the rest of their blocks. This will teach the concepts of in, out, over, and
through.
117 Jones Jaggers Hall 1906 College Heights Blvd #11098 Bowling Green, KY 42101-1098
270-745-2216 or 800-621-5908 Fax: 270-745-7089
Email: ccrr.expert@wku.edu
Web: http://www.wku.edu/ccrr-wku/
Above all else, have fun with your child. Your child learns from you and the questions
you ask encourages your child to think and come up with their own conclusions.
Copyright © 2009 WKU Child Care Resource and Referral
Funded in part by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services through the University of Kentucky Research Foundation.
Equal Education and Employment Opportunities.
117 Jones Jaggers Hall 1906 College Heights Blvd #11098 Bowling Green, KY 42101-1098
270-745-2216 or 800-621-5908 Fax: 270-745-7089
Email: ccrr.expert@wku.edu
Web: http://www.wku.edu/ccrr-wku/