Blocks, Blocks, Blocks

You may have heard your child tell you about the appearance of blocks in our classroom. Over the past couple of weeks, they have met three kinds of blocks and experimented with them in many ways. Unit blocks are presented in the Rivers classrooms in an introductory way.  Children are introduced to one block or one concept each day.  Questions that we consider include:

• How do we compare sizes?
• What makes a structure safe, strong, and beautiful?

The unit block, a rectangular block, is the basis of the system that we use. They have also met the square, two of them together equals a unit, and the double block, the equivalent of two unit blocks.

Unit blocks provide challenges for young children in terms of spatial and mathematical understandings, knowledge and skills.  Experiences in the blocks area will also support social/emotional and language development, especially as they collaborate with their classmates, problem-solving and creative thinking, and aesthetic sense.

As we practice building and unbuilding each day, students will understand that there is a beauty in careful building. They will understand the safest way to construct a structure, how to make it strong and see that the blocks can be used to make models of things they see in the real world.