What Is Six Bricks All About ?

What is Six Bricks all about ?
WHAT IS SIX BRICKS?
Six colours – red, orange, yellow, green, dark blue, light blue 2x4s
bright to add colour to the child’s day
different except for 2 shades of blue – light / dark
enables learning of colours; colour matching; colour associations
all children receive same 6 colours = no fighting; allows for mixing of the bricks /
working in groups and pooling bricks together; easy to collect own six colours again
WHY DO ACTIVITIES WITH SIX BRICKS?
So easy to manage – children keep their 6 bricks on their own table / in chairbag (if no tables),
or in a container which is always readily available.
No need to unpack heaps of DUPLO which may be disruptive – six bricks on desk is easy to access
Easy to control – at end of day each child needs to make sure that they have their six bricks on their desk,
(or in the container) ready for the next day.
Six bricks allows children to work outside their field of vision which enables them to work / build in the abstract (encourage “out of
the box” thinkers); develops peripheral vision – vital skill for reading fluency.
Six bricks can be used

individually
with a partner
in a small group
in a large group
with a variety of ages
as an assessment tool - Teacher observes children whist performing the activities
& can then assess their abilities / knowledge
Six bricks activities can take 2 mins / 5 mins – short, sharp & engaging; 30 mins – allowing more time for children to explore by
building … all depending on the aim of the activity
WHEN TO USE SIX BRICK ACTIVITIES ?

l at the end of a day to simply unwind and have a little bit of fun while you bond with your classmates
l first thing in the morning to sharpen your brain & get you ready for learning
l just after break to re-focus attention and settle down
l as a “brain-break” during the course of a school day – stop whatever you are doing and re-energise the brain as you play!
l as “brain-gym” in any of the learning areas to develop working memory; inhibitory control & cognitive flexibility
l as motivation to pay attention & focus for a lesson that is to follow
l at any time during the day as a concrete tool for children to manipulate in order to develop critical learning skills
l at any time during the day as a concrete tool for children to grasp concepts and gain understanding of new learning
l when children have finished their set tasks, they could build for fun or reinforce & consolidate their learning
l at any time during the day child can use their bricks to help them work out a problem or demonstrate an idea
ADVANTAGES OF USING SIX BRICK ACTIVITIES ?
Once Six Bricks activities become a daily habit, a whole lot of
reinforcement of learning takes place in a fun and playful way,
which children need!
Children grow and develop at different rates – it is so easy to adapt
Six Bricks activities to any child’s level, thereby making the activities
suitably challenging for all.
Six Bricks activities caters for different learning styles by using
many different ways to teach – it caters for the visual learner; the
auditory learner; the tactile learner.
Six Bricks allows for a variety of responses from children at different stages of development.
Each child has their own unique “time-table” – ready to learn according to his / her own maturation process – Teacher must
respect this readiness factor which may or may not coincide with the rest of the children in the class. Activities with Six Bricks gives
the children the opportunity to grasp concepts through concrete manipulation. In this way, the 3 Rs readiness skills can be
practised and developed.
Children create & invent their own ideas & rules for games for new Six Bricks activities, making them in charge of their own
learning.
Activities with Six Bricks allows children to make mistakes without feeling ashamed or embarrassed – enables the PROCESS to
become important, not the result. Children can make mistakes and learn from their mistakes – improve; try out; experiment
without the fear of “being wrong”. In this way they become confident and adventurous and other ideas spark.
Teachers & parents should not ignore undesirable behaviour because a child is “going through a stage”. Instead, they should seek
to guide and direct the child in ways that enhance their overall growth – Six Bricks activities give plenty of opportunity to practise
self-control through fun & games & play.
Children develop core learning skills through play. Six Bricks is an attempt to bring back that element of playful learning to the
classroom and more specifically to the child’s desk – because of the large number of children in any one class, there is little to no
space for play and learning with manipulatives. Six Bricks on each child’s desk creates the possibility for each child to build
knowledge with their hands whilst manipulating the 3D brick, without needing too much space.
Six Bricks activities cater for the “whole child”; they have been organized into six developmental areas, yet each is integrated;
activities are especially designed to cover all learning areas and developmental skills and in so doing, also develops the executive
function of the brain – certain activities especially focus on developing working memory; cognitive flexibility & inhibitory control =
learning for LIFE – develops self-control for adulthood.
Working with Six Bricks allows the Teacher the opportunity to observe the children while they are engaged in an activity or game.
The Teacher can look for evidence of their social, emotional, physical & intellectual growth. It helps the teacher to see each child
as an individual – watching & working with Six Bricks exposes how different each child is.
Six Bricks is a great tool for parents to use with their children at home when assisting them with skills development or homework.
Teachers can run parent workshops to show the parents how to run the activities.
Six Bricks activities work well for special needs children – growth & development do not proceed “normally” for all children.
1. Children with disabilities require particular attention to their particular disability.
Teachers can adapt Six Bricks activities to teach them one-on-one.
2. Children who are gifted also require attention.
Their exceptional abilities must be challenged and stimulated - can be scaled up to do this.
Teachers using Six Bricks activities change the way they teach – they realise that children can direct their own learning; the Teacher
takes a step back from being the main focus and the child becomes important.
Six Bricks activities supports the curriculum.

What Is Six Bricks All About ?

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What is Six Bricks all about ?

WHAT IS SIX BRICKS?

WHY DO ACTIVITIES WITH SIX BRICKS?

Six bricks can be used

WHEN TO USE SIX BRICK ACTIVITIES ?

Six Bricks activities supports the curriculum.

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