Setting up the Block Area

Mary Hohmann and David P. Weikart

http://www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/blocks/SettingUp.html 

Almost all children enjoy playing in the block area and can find something to do with blocks, whether or not they have ever played with them before. Young children with little prior experience enjoy taking blocks off the shelves, heaping them into piles, lining them up, stacking them, loading them into cartons, dumping them out, carrying them, and fitting them carefully back on the shelves. After they have had plenty of time to explore blocks, children begin to build all kinds of structures. With increasing thoughtfulness, they begin to experiment with balance, enclosure, patterns, and symmetry. They also combine blocks with little people, animals, and vehicles in make-believe play. Structures become houses and barns; lined-up blocks become roads and fences. As children play on their own and with others, adults recognize and support their exploration, imitation, spatial problem solving, sorting, comparing, and pretending.

Gardeners Love Pipe Builders for ECE!

     I love the blog with the video just before this using Pipe Builders as the building blocks for their outdoor garden! My husband is a gardener and would always come in and teach the kids about planting and growing their own flowers or vegetables. Its amazing how much attention these young minds can give a special guest and how willing they are to get in there and "get their hand dirty"!  I love seeing these young children learn to participate in the environment around them.  See previous blog entry for more details on the Pipe Builders Video.