
The value of block play in childhood From a young age, children naturally play with and manipulate objects around them to satisfy their curiosity, so it’s no wonder that block play is popular with children of all ages. Building blocks are basic toys, yet they’re far from boring - there are countless ways that blocks can be arranged to create different structures and fantasy worlds. Blocks are relatively inexpensive, and come in different shapes, sizes, and materials. If you don’t have any, try using whatever materials you have around the home, like carboard boxes or cartons. At first, babies simply hold and explore blocks, but as they get older, they start stacking, sorting, and building simple structures. As they get even older, they build more complex structures and engage in dramatic play with their creations. As well as being a fun activity, block play also provides lots of opportunities for hands-on learning and can foster the development of a range of skills during childhood. Here are some of the ways block play, and other types of construction play, can benefit children: - Physical development. Just by picking up and holding blocks, young children are developing fundamental motor skills and hand-eye coordination. During block play children must coordinate the small muscles in their hands to grasp and hold the blocks between their fingers and thumbs. These are known as fine motor skills. It takes a lot of precision and control to carefully place and balance the blocks on top of each other. Block play is also great for motivating children to use their whole bodies: they might crawl or walk towards a block that’s out of reach or stand and reach up to place a block at the top of a tall tower. These are known as gross motor skills.
| - Early mathematic and scientific concepts. Through hands-on experiences during block play, children are learning early mathematical and scientific concepts, like counting/numeracy, geometry, measurement (size and weight), fractions (whole and parts), symmetry, patterns, balance, stability, and gravity. By experimenting with cause and effect children learn about these properties through active exploration: for example, what happens if you place a block too close to the edge, or pull out a block from the middle of the tower?
What is the evidence that block play benefits child development? We have summarized some of the key findings below from research studies:
Although there’s evidence that block play and spatial ability are related, we don’t know that block play causes children to develop better spatial skills. It could be the other way around: better spatial skills could just mean that children like playing with blocks more. That said, there’s some evidence that construction play can benefit learning9,10. For example, in one experimental study, children who played with blocks improved more on a spatial task (mental rotation) than children who played a different game (Scrabble)11. More research is needed to understand whether block play interventions have longer-term benefits in the real world, for example on children’s school attainment. Block play top tips While the most important thing about block play is that children are having fun, here are a few tips for extending the play:
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