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.

Block Area Ideas

This is from Gayle's Preschool Rainbow website.  It offers some ideas for inexpensive block props.



Cheap Block Play
Materials: Empty boxes - from small shoe boxes to big boxes, such as the ones diapers come in and retail outlet boxes. 
Description: Put boxes in the block area where there is room for building and exploring.
Comments: Children love playing with the different shapes and sizes.


Block Time Prop
Materials: Small green containers that strawberries come in.
Description: Teachers put these containers in the block area or play area. The children can make garages for cars or cages for animals. We have made a two room house with them.  Preschool children never get enough of these containers. 
Comments: Have all of the children save the containers from home.