Benefits of Block Building
When children engage in open-ended explorations, construct, create, and represent their experiences with blocks, they grow in each area of development.
Personal/Social Skills
-Listening -Sharing -Taking turns -Communicating -Helping
-Demonstrating respect -Negotiating -Initiating -Cooperating
-Problem-solving -Self-regulating -Recognizing accomplishments
Physical Skills
-Small muscle development -Persistence -Cooperation
-Large muscle development -Spatial awareness -Balance -Eye-hand coordination
Mathematical Skills
-Size -Area -Patterns -Part/whole relationships -2-D and 3-D shapes -Length -Adding
-Subtracting -Numbers -Mass -Spatial relationships -Comparing -Ordering -Sorting
-Mathematical terms (more, fewer, heavier)
Language Skills
-Listening and responding -Asking questions -Explaining -Developing vocabulary
-Following and providing 1- and 2-step directions -Solving problems -Writing signs and simple messages -Communicating ideas
Science and Technology Skills
-Questioning - Constructing -Reflecting -Planning -Observing -Problem-solving
-Predicting -Communicating -Designing
Art and Design Skills
-Imagining -Designing -Creating -Representing ideas, knowledge, experiences -Dramatizing
Stages of Block Building
Stage 1 Carrying - Children carry blocks around but do not use them for construction.
Stage 2 Stacking - Children mostly make rows, either horizontal or vertical.
Stage 3 Bridging - Children create a bridge by using two blocks to support a third. This is known as a post-and-lintel system.
Stage 4 Enclosures - Children place blocks in such a way that they enclose a space. Bridging and enclosures are among the earliest technical problems children have to solve when playing with blocks.
Stage 5 Patterns and Symmetry - Children become steadily more imaginative in their block building, using more blocks, creating more elaborate designs, and incorporating patterns and balance into their constructions.
Stage 6 Early Representational - Naming of structures begins. Before this stage, children may have named their structures, but not necessarily based on the function of the building. This stage of block building corresponds to the "realistic" stage in art development.
Stage 7 Later Representational - Children intentionally use blocks to represent things they know, like cities, cars, airplanes, and houses. They also use blocks to stimulate dramatic play activities: zoo, farm, shopping center, and other locations.
Personal/Social Skills
-Listening -Sharing -Taking turns -Communicating -Helping
-Demonstrating respect -Negotiating -Initiating -Cooperating
-Problem-solving -Self-regulating -Recognizing accomplishments
Physical Skills
-Small muscle development -Persistence -Cooperation
-Large muscle development -Spatial awareness -Balance -Eye-hand coordination
Mathematical Skills
-Size -Area -Patterns -Part/whole relationships -2-D and 3-D shapes -Length -Adding
-Subtracting -Numbers -Mass -Spatial relationships -Comparing -Ordering -Sorting
-Mathematical terms (more, fewer, heavier)
Language Skills
-Listening and responding -Asking questions -Explaining -Developing vocabulary
-Following and providing 1- and 2-step directions -Solving problems -Writing signs and simple messages -Communicating ideas
Science and Technology Skills
-Questioning - Constructing -Reflecting -Planning -Observing -Problem-solving
-Predicting -Communicating -Designing
Art and Design Skills
-Imagining -Designing -Creating -Representing ideas, knowledge, experiences -Dramatizing
Stages of Block Building
Stage 1 Carrying - Children carry blocks around but do not use them for construction.
Stage 2 Stacking - Children mostly make rows, either horizontal or vertical.
Stage 3 Bridging - Children create a bridge by using two blocks to support a third. This is known as a post-and-lintel system.
Stage 4 Enclosures - Children place blocks in such a way that they enclose a space. Bridging and enclosures are among the earliest technical problems children have to solve when playing with blocks.
Stage 5 Patterns and Symmetry - Children become steadily more imaginative in their block building, using more blocks, creating more elaborate designs, and incorporating patterns and balance into their constructions.
Stage 6 Early Representational - Naming of structures begins. Before this stage, children may have named their structures, but not necessarily based on the function of the building. This stage of block building corresponds to the "realistic" stage in art development.
Stage 7 Later Representational - Children intentionally use blocks to represent things they know, like cities, cars, airplanes, and houses. They also use blocks to stimulate dramatic play activities: zoo, farm, shopping center, and other locations.