Learning with Block Play

​The block center is an essential area for the early childhood classroom.  The block area includes soft blocks and Duplos in the toddler classroom or wooden blocks, Lincoln Logs, and Legos in the preschool classroom.  The block center is often one of the busiest centers in the early childhood classroom.  Children love to come to the block center to build towers and then watch what happens as each block falls to the ground.  In the midst of all the activity, children are learning more than you can imagine.
 

• Social & Emotional Skills – The block center encourages children to play together.  By building together and acting out the same stories, children are learning to share and take turn with materials.  They also have to learn to cooperate during their pretend play and negotiate how to create their block towers together.  This is a great area of the classroom to see new friendships emerge.
• Creativity & Imagination – Building with blocks allows children to use their imagination to create something new.  This could mean building a community out of blocks or acting out a story.  Blocks allow children to begin with real objects in their hands but eventually make abstract thoughts.
• Mathematics – There are so many mathematics skills taught by working with blocks.  When children play with different types of blocks they can compare the lengths, sizes, and shapes of the blocks.  These comparisons allow children to learn the concepts of same and different.  Children frequently use blocks to create simple patterns.  They also use blocks to make symmetrical and asymmetrical structures.  Blocks can be used for skills like simple counting also.
• Problem Solving & Scientific Thought – When children are building with blocks, they frequently must solve problems.  “Why did my tall tower fall down?  How can I make my tower better this time?”  Creating new things with blocks can allow children to make predictions.  “Which block house will make the loudest sound when it falls down?”  Then, children get the opportunity to test their hypothesis.  The block area is a great place in the classroom for children to analyze how things work.  “I wonder what would happen if . . . . “

 
When early childhood educators design their classroom environment, the block area should provide enough space for several children to play together and offer multiple types of blocks with which children can interact.