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    Block Play

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    Block play promotes the development of important skills in young children. As children build with blocks, they must communicate, negotiate, and solve problems together. This allows them to practice social skills while also building math, science, and language abilities. A variety of blocks are provided to encourage different types of play. Block play helps children understand that their communication style affects how others respond and helps them learn social roles. It also facilitates inclusion and brings together children of varying genders, ages, and languages. An example showed how a group of children worked flexibly together to build a habitat for land and water animals out of blocks.

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    Block Play

    Uploaded by

    api-327140650
    60 views2 pages
    Block play promotes the development of important skills in young children. As children build with blocks, they must communicate, negotiate, and solve problems together. This allows them to practice social skills while also building math, science, and language abilities. A variety of blocks are provided to encourage different types of play. Block play helps children understand that their communication style affects how others respond and helps them learn social roles. It also facilitates inclusion and brings together children of varying genders, ages, and languages. An example showed how a group of children worked flexibly together to build a habitat for land and water animals out of blocks.

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    Block play promotes the development of important skills in young children. As children build with blocks, they must communicate, negotiate, and solve problems together. This allows them to practice social skills while also building math, science, and language abilities. A variety of blocks are provided to encourage different types of play. Block play helps children understand that their communication style affects how others respond and helps them learn social roles. It also facilitates inclusion and brings together children of varying genders, ages, and languages. An example showed how a group of children worked flexibly together to build a habitat for land and water animals out of blocks.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    60 views2 pages

    Block Play

    Uploaded by

    api-327140650
    Block play promotes the development of important skills in young children. As children build with blocks, they must communicate, negotiate, and solve problems together. This allows them to practice social skills while also building math, science, and language abilities. A variety of blocks are provided to encourage different types of play. Block play helps children understand that their communication style affects how others respond and helps them learn social roles. It also facilitates inclusion and brings together children of varying genders, ages, and languages. An example showed how a group of children worked flexibly together to build a habitat for land and water animals out of blocks.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    Early Childhood

    When is Block Play


    More thAn Just Play?

    Always!

    Block play promotes


    communication...

    by Sarah Gehrke, early childhood teacher

    As children communicate, negotiate and problem


    solve during block play, they are not only building
    science, math and language skills, they are also
    building a community of friends, learners,
    negotiators, and problem solvers.
    In early
    childhood at ASFG you will see children playing with
    many kinds of blocks: wooden big blocks, table
    blocks, pattern blocks, linker cubes, 1 cm blocks,
    wooden cubes, snap blocks, big blue blocks, and
    LEGO. Providing a variety of blocks allows children
    to play in different ways.
    Block play promotes communication. As students
    build together they must express their needs or
    wants to each other. They must choose their role
    in the community by choosing how they
    communicate with others. Do they get what they
    want by being aggressive, flexible, passive, or
    demanding? How do others react to their
    communication style? Do they choose to be the
    leader or follower, the dreamer or doer? They
    experiment with social roles. Children begin to
    understand that how they communicate can affect
    how they are responded to by others in their
    classroom community.
    Block play crosses gender, age, and language
    boundaries. Boys and girls play together, often
    building complex structures. Children of different
    ages can participate in block play together.
    Children do not have to share a similar language to
    participate with each other in block play. A new
    student in my class speaks neither English or
    Spanish but happily participates in block play. He
    is regularly invited into the play by his peers and
    enthusiastically helps with the construction.
    A recent interaction of children playing together
    with different colored blocks and plastic animals,
    shows the way block play allows for conversation,
    flexibility and inclusion. These are all parts of a
    positive classroom community.

    34

    SPRING 2016

    Early Childhood

    We are making

    land and water animals.

    A group of three children were placing blue and green blocks in groups on the floor. They were setting animals on top of the groups of blocks.
    Child #1:

    We are making land and water animals.

    Child #2:

    This is the green for the grass.

    Child #3

    Added a sloping long block and said So animals can slide.

    Child #4

    Entered the play and asked: Can I help you make the habitat?

    Child #1

    Yes.

    Child #1

    Added red blocks near the green and blue and said The red can be the lava.

    As many as eight children moved in and out of this block play group. Each time a child came into or left the play group the community of learners
    changed. In subtle ways the rules of building established by the original group were either enforced or revised.
    Block play in early childhood classrooms is a powerful tool for building community. It is a time to learn communication skills, play in flexible
    groups, reinforce academic language, practice flexibility, form new friendships, negotiate needs, and have fun with peers. All of these skills are
    important building blocks for becoming a positive member of any community.

    SPRING 2016

    35

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