Today I'm starting a new blog series about the Power of Play in Preschool in the different centers of our classrooms. I will highlight areas of development and success and home/school connection.
Today we will start with blocks play, one of our all-time favorite!
Play at the block area is a critical part of the development of the child. I strongly believe every early childhood classroom, daycare, and preschool, and kindergarten classroom should have a set of blocks available for students to explore and play.
Block play and exploration promotes learning in all domains of the development of the child: cognitive, physical, and social-emotional and language.
Here’s three areas of great success during block play.
- Problem solving skills – when a child plays with blocks, he will face some challenges such as the structure falling down or not high enough. This is when the problem solving skills begin to develop. How can I make my tower strong and not fall down? What can I do to make my castle taller?
- Language development – the conversations happening in the block area are rich and meaningful. The children involved shared own experiences and knowledge. English language learners begin to make connections to their new acquire language as well practicing their expressive language.
- Social emotional development – block play facilitates children to take turns, cooperate with others, and share space and materials. They learn ways to make friends and become self-reliant. Attention span increases as they become invested in what they are creating and the overall experience.
The children are having a conversation about how one of them was in traffic when driving to the zoo. They discuss some animals they saw things they learned about a zoo animal.
- Let child initiate play and follow the lead.
- Use blocks with conventional and non conventional ideas.
- Read books involving building and creating.
- Add accessories to blocks such as play people and animals.
- Involve concepts such as counting, sorting, patterns, and colors.
Stay tuned for the next post on The Power of Dramatic Play!
Keep learning!
