Toy Blocks Help Children Learn
So true, toy blocks can really help toddlers to learn more! There are different kinds of toy blocks in the market today not just the alphabet cubes or those with numbers on it. The ever popular Lego blocks is the first thing that comes to mind when we say toy blocks but there are many other kinds. You just have to do a little research.
Toy blocks compared to other high tech and electronically powered toy that you find in TV ads and commercials, may not be as sophisticated but they are ideal for learning because they involve the child as a whole. As a whole meaning you get to excite the minds and body. The toddlers their muscles and they discovers how different objects feel in their hands. There is also the mental side of it. Toy blocks makes them thinks about spaces and shapes, and the way she develops thoughts and interests of her own.
Toy blocks vary in name and material by manufacturer, but they are all based on the proportions 1:2:4. These blocks must be sturdy and accurately cut so that children of all different ages and levels of learning may use them to create, solve problems, and challenge themselves.
Blocks help children learn
Socially—Blocks encourage children to make friends and cooperate. They learned also the value of sharing by playing with other children. Large block play may be a young child’s first experience playing in a group, while small block play may encourage an older child to work with others in solving problems.
Physically—When children reach for, pick up, stack, or fit blocks together, they build strength in their fingers and hands, and increase eye-hand coordination. Around two, children begin to figure out which shapes will fit where, and get a head start on understanding different perspectives—skills that will help them to read maps and follow directions later on. Blocks help kindergarten and primary grade children develop skills in design, representation, balance and stability.
Intellectually—Blocks help children learn across many academic subjects. Young children develop their vocabularies as they learn to describe sizes, shapes, and positions. Preschoolers and kindergartners develop math skills by grouping, adding, subtracting and eventually multiplying with blocks. Older children make early experiments with gravity, balance, and geometry.
Creatively—Blocks offer children the chance to make their own designs, and the satisfaction of creating structures that did not exist before. Beginning at the age of two, children may use a variety of blocks for pretend-play. Children may become life-sized actors in large block structures, or use figures to create dramas in miniature landscapes.
Children value their own block structures whether or not they represent specific things. Rather than asking a child, “What did you make?” say, “Tell me about what you made.” This will encourage a dialog and offer the child new opportunities to explore.
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