The Many Benefits Of Blocks

When children are playing with blocks it’s easy to assume that they are “just playing” but in reality they are doing so much more than “just playing”.  Blocks are excellent tools for learning and it can enhance multiple domains of development.  Blocks can improve fine and gross motor skills as your child reaches for and moves the blocks around.  There’s no limit for harnessing creativity with blocks because there are many ways to play with blocks.  One day your child may be building a skyscraper and then next day he’s recreating a farm he visited.  When children experiment with blocks they are increasing their problem solving skills.  When a block doesn’t “fit” or his structure doesn’t balance the way he anticipates,  he realizes that the block may not be the best choice for what he has in mind, and so he tries again.  When your child engages with block play with friends it becomes a social experience as they interact and cooperate with each other to build elaborate structures that have representative meaning.  Cognitively, your child is learning more than meets the eye.  He’s learning mathematically as he counts, patterns, matches, sorts and groups the blocks.  Geometric vocabulary can be introduced as he notices the sizes and shapes of the blocks.  Scientifically, he’s building hypotheses and testing them out as he experiments with gravity and balance.  Blocks are oozing with benefits and thus should be in every child’s toy box!

Allow your child to experiment with blocks and see what they can create.  One challenging activity you can introduce with your child is to have them do a mirror build.  This means that you will build a small tower and your child will try to mirror your tower.  He will build exactly what you built.  Start simply by maybe choosing five blocks (three of one color and two of another) and build a patterned tower.  See if your child can mimic your tower in the correct pattern.  Continue to challenge your child by making your structure more complex.  Switch roles and have your child build a tower and you try to copy it.  Make mistakes once in awhile and watch how they react.  Do they encourage you to try again?  Do they praise you when you’ve done a good job?  Remember you are their role model, so hear you saying to should be similar to how they treat you.

Blocks are an open-ended, developmentally appropriate activity for young children.  Make your child’s block play more interesting by adding new elements to the play.  Maybe today you add in some small plastic animals or tomorrow you add in some cars and trucks.  I wonder where your son’s imagination will lead him next?