Encouraging Block Play - A Progressive Approach For Young Toddlers And Preschoolers

Blocks are the most versatile, open ended toys that can be lifelong companion to any child.

A lot of research talk about why block play is important in toddlers and preschoolers.

I read up on those research articles and felt pressured that I have been losing time on introducing blocks to Sid and Nidhi. So, I hurriedly bought our first set of blocks from IKEA and presented it to the twins when they were almost 2 years old.

I was eagerly awaiting to watch them start stacking right away but to my dismay it laid unattended. If you are in that phase right now, relax! We are well past that stage now and blocks are an integral part of play in our everyday life now. How we did it? OK, Let me share my step by step progressive approach in keeping my then young toddlers( now young preschoolers) interested in blocks.

1. Start with building Horizontally and use pattern/idea cards

       Start slowly introducing blocks for very young toddlers.Though our mental image of blocks are tall stacked towers and castles, using them for particular task gives the toddler focus and a sense of accomplishment. Start with shape and color matching or sorting activities.
I made simple laminated pattern cards of cars, trucks, trains etc with the blocks I had and put them on their montessori shelves for matching. Make sure each card has not more than 4-5 blocks to start with.
Using magnetic blocks on cookie sheets can help reduce frustrations.

Laminated card made to match blocks

2.  Shift to building vertically and use pattern/idea cards

       Once you feel your child is ready for some tumbling excitement present the same blocks with idea cards such as a bridge, a house, a rocket etc.. The cards can be hand drawn 2D shapes or photo print of simple structures built by you.  This is basically a copy and build activity. To keep the interest alive you can present them with progressively complex structures.

An inspiration card for building a Rocket

3. Set up provocations with pictures of real structures

       Once your child has mastered copy and build with blocks or his interest has moved on, challenge your child to build with pictures of real structures. I set up provocations with pictures of castles, downtown, bridges etc and ask them if they can replicate the structures.
Take care to provide block shapes equivalent to the shapes in the real structure to avoid frustrations when introducing this step.

A provocation set to build castles

4. Enhance block play with add-on materials

       As your child gets older his play gets structured, imaginative and intentional. He starts to build with intent. To encourage this phase, introduce other materials in your block play area. The materials can also act as subtle hints on what they can build. For example, adding animal figurines with blocks can lead to building a barn/zoo. Adding peg people/cars can lead to building a community or race tracks...
Follow your child's current interest and add materials accordingly.

A Barn built with Magna Tiles and Animal Figurines

5. Encourage Tinkering with Blocks

        This suggestion is useful for older preschoolers who are interested in creating or tinkering. Present materials for tinkering such as glue sticks, velcro, scotch tape, masking tape, straws, cardboard tubes etc in the block play area. We found that foam blocks are great to tinker with.

A Tower crane lifting a bunch of sticks - built with Foam blocks, Tape, Cardstock and Straws

PS:
1.  These ideas came out of  my experiences with my kids and we are still exploring. There are many other ways to encourage block play if these don't work for you.
2.   Leave out the blocks for easy access and your kids will surprise you one fine day.
3.  If blocks are left unattended for long time, sit and build something by yourself and the kids will surely follow you.

Finally, there is no one way of playing with blocks. If your child only loves to knock off your beautiful structures, so be it! Just relax and have fun!!