The School Age 1 (JKK) children at RisingOaks | John Sweeney inquired about borrowing the large blocks from Preschool 2 for a few days. Thankfully, the Preschool program was happy to pass them along to the JKk program. The children swarmed the blocks as soon as they came into the classroom. Ideas were shouted, designs were planned and the structures immediately emerged. As the blocks remained in the classroom over the next few days, the excitement worse off. However, there was a group of children that gravitated towards the blocks every afternoon. They began their construction by planning out where the blocks would go. Then they would assign the block size to each child. Child 1 took the large blocks and made a base, Child 2 would use the medium blocks to divide rooms and Child 3 would use the small blocks to create the height and doorways. This encouraged the children to problem solve, communicate and experience cause and effect. Block play has many benefits for children, including:
Motor skills: Children develop both gross and fine motor skills as they shift, crawl, stretch, and piece together blocks.
Hand-eye coordination: Block play helps children improve their hand-eye coordination.
Spatial awareness: Children learn about shapes, sizes, and how objects fit together. They also develop an understanding of spatial relationships and geometry.
Math and science: Children learn math concepts like counting, adding, and subtracting, as well as scientific reasoning skills. They can also test hypotheses about structure, gravity, and elevation.
Language development: Children learn language as they talk about their structures with others.
Social skills: Children learn to share, cooperate, negotiate, and communicate. They also learn to take turns, set goals, and develop patience and persistence.
Creativity: Children can combine and recombine blocks in many ways to create unique structures.
Self-esteem: Children discover that they can bring their ideas to life, which can help build their self-esteem.
Engineering skills: Children can learn engineering skills through block play.
Please feel free to join your child in block building and at pick up. We'd love to see what you can create together!
