Blocks Matter

1. Blocks Matter Presented by Julie Hamilton jhamilton77845@gmail.com

2. What is a typical block center? • A challenge… • Place where boys blow off steam? • Area that is always ready to use? • Center for child who can’t decide what else to do? • Too noisy on a day with a headache? • Center that is hard to clean up? • Cause for disagreements and conflict?

3. OR… • An opportunity… • For strong and weak partners to learn together • For gender blended play • For academic learning experiences • For social skill development for presentation of exciting play events

4. Benefits of Block Play • Language Development • Reading and Writing Readiness (literacy) • Physical (Fine and Gross Motor and eye-hand coordination) • Social/Emotional/Cooperation/Responsibility • Creative Play/Imagination • Cognitive Development/Problem Solving • Math Skills (shape, size, area, measurement, symmetry, estimation, patterns, geometry, classification/sorting) • Science Concepts (balance, weight, gravity, physics, space, cause/effect, scientific reasoning, problem solving, experimentation)

5. Multiple studies over several decades find that children who play with blocks significantly outperform those who do not, not just in infancy but over their entire academic careers.

6. Unit Blocks: What are they and why are they important? • Unit blocks: The most basic blocks are made from solid hardwood so they will last for years, if not a lifetime. They are called "unit blocks" because they are built on the same basic standard of measurement. Each block is a fraction of the standard unit (such as a quarter unit or half unit) or a multiple of the standard unit (such as a double unit or quadruple unit). • They offer the most learning value because • Proportional in size to develop math concepts • Available in various size sets • Made of hardwood to last a long time

7. Unit Blocks: History • The Unit Blocks were actually created back in the early 1900’s by Caroline Pratt who was convinced that play was how young children learn. Pratt's philosophy was that children perceive their need for enriched information in order to enhance the quality of their play. They raise new inquiries that carry on to the discovery of further intellectual relationships. Pratt believed that:*The child needs an active role in the learning process.*The child's experience is expressed and organized through play.*Play requires adaptable materials.*The adult provides experiences and materials based on the child’s inquiries and the development and learning observed.

10. “I often tell people that if I had only a very limited budget and was starting my own childcare program or preschool program, I would spend most of my money on a good set of unit blocks…Unit blocks have such intense value—they touch every area of the curriculum, every area of child development.” Karen Miller, Early Childhood Education author

11. Stages of Block Play Carrying/Discovering (age 2-3) 2. Stacking (age 3)

12. Bridge Building (ages 3-4) Enclosures (age 4)

13. 6. Structures (ages 5-6) 5. Patterns & Symmetry (ages 4-5)

14. Block Center Set Up • Three sided area out of traffic lanes • Adequate space for building and display • Low nap rug for definition and noise reduction • Open Shelving for neat storage • Storage for loose parts and props • Label everything with words and pictures • Trace and tape block shapes on shelves

16. Block Center Sign

17. How Many Blocks Should I have in the Block Center? • 40-60 per child in the block center

18. Block Center Props • Rug with road • Small Traffic Cones • House Designs and Blueprints • Pictures or poster of buildings, bridges, cities, farms, etc. • Construction Hat/Clothes • Photo book • Theme related props • Rubber, plastic, or wooden animals • Traffic signs • Vehicles of all kinds • Rubber, plastic, or wooden people • Small cubes or other blocks to decorate • Small doll houses/farm/airport/etc. • Doll house furniture • Clipboards with paper and pencils

24. Block Center Loose Parts • Popsicle sticks for signs and fences • Tongue depressors • Easter Grass • Pipe cleaners (chenille sticks) • Wooden beads for decoration • Nature items (sticks, leaves, rocks, tree slice) • Foil or cellophane • Plastic lids and containers • Cardboard tubes from paper towels • Wallpaper samples • Countertop samples • Cardboard pieces for roofs • Boxes to make into buildings • Tile orvinyl flooring samples • Carpet samples • Strawberry baskets • Styrofoam trays • Fabric swatches for tents, curtains, bedspreads • Thread spools • Yarn or string for cables or fences • Film canisters for towers

27. Books for Block Center

28. Adult Role in Block Center • Spend time in the area as observer or player • Convey interest and value of work • Talk to the children (see handout for ideas) • Use all types of questions • Encourage building, playing and social skills • Assess throughout the year • Guide child to next steps of learning

29. Block Center Rules/Guidelines • We build with blocks, not throw them. •         You may knock down only the tower you build. •         You may build as tall as you are. •         We keep the blocks on the carpet. •         We build away from the shelves and others. •         We take only what we will use.

30. Block Center Clean Up Ideas • Shape Tickets—Laminate block shapes on pieces of poster board. Each child picks up all the blocks that match the ticket he has drawn. • Number Tickets—Put a range of numbers on pieces of poster board and laminate. Each child picks up the number of blocks as on the ticket they draw. This technique uses math skills in a meaningful way. • Offer Choices—Ask children, “Do you want to pick up the long ones or the short ones?” Then you do the others. When children have a choice, they are more cooperative. • Singing and Chanting –Sing or chant a rhyme while you are cleaning. Make up your own words to a familiar tune. • Choosing Shelves—Let children select a shelf and replace the blocks that go on that shelf. They can work in pairs for this if a shelf has many blocks to put away.

31. Block Center & STEM • “Not all children will grow up to become scientists, engineers, or mathematicians, but all children will grow up to be adults who will use science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in their daily lives. Experiences with materials such as ramps and blocks will equip them to be scientifically literate citizens of the 21st century.”