Few toys last as long in a family as a set of plain wooden blocks. A one-year-old bangs two together. A three-year-old builds a wobbly tower and knocks it flat with enormous satisfaction. A five-year-old spends an entire morning on a zoo with enclosures for every animal, complete with a car park and a ticket office.
Block play looks simple, and that is part of its strength. There are no batteries and no instructions, and the blocks never tell a child what they are supposed to be. That leaves all the thinking to the child.
How block play develops
Children's block building tends to move through a recognisable series of stages. The ages are rough and every child is different, but the order is fairly consistent.
- Carrying and exploring. Toddlers pick blocks up and carry them around the room. They bang them together. They fill a container just to tip it out again. Building is not the point yet.
- Towers and rows. Children start stacking upwards or laying blocks in lines along the floor. Knocking towers down is a big part of the fun.
- Bridges. Two blocks with a space between them and a third laid across the top. This takes surprising planning and a steady hand.
- Enclosures. Blocks arranged to surround a space, often to keep toy animals in. Inside and outside become important ideas.
- Patterns and balance. Children start to build with symmetry and decoration, and use repeating patterns on purpose.
- Named buildings. Constructions become specific places with names. A house might appear, or a whole MRT station. These buildings then go on to star in pretend play. Older preschoolers often plan before they build and can work on one structure with friends.
What children learn from blocks
Maths
Block play is packed with early maths. Children compare sizes and discover that two small blocks can match one long one. They count and sort as they go. They notice shapes, and how those shapes fit together. Ideas like taller and shorter come up naturally. So do equal and half.
There is some interesting research here. A long-term American study by Wolfgang and colleagues, published in the Journal of Research in Childhood Education in 2001, followed 37 children from preschool into their teenage years. The complexity of their block play at age four was linked with better maths results in secondary school. It was a small study, and a link of that kind does not prove the blocks caused the results. Still, it fits with what teachers see in classrooms every day.
Physics and engineering
Every tower is an experiment in balance and gravity. Children learn through trial and error that a wide base is steadier than a narrow one, and that a heavy block on top can bring the whole thing down. They are testing ideas about stability long before they have words for them.
Spatial thinking
Building asks children to imagine how pieces will fit together and how a structure will look from the other side. These spatial skills help with later learning in maths and science, as well as with everyday tasks like reading a map.
Language
Block play creates a natural need for words. On top, underneath, beside, between, behind. Children learn these position words far more easily when they are using them to describe their own building.
Persistence and problem-solving
Towers fall down. Bridges collapse. A child who rebuilds a tower for the fifth time, trying a slightly different approach each time, is practising persistence in a way no worksheet can match.
Getting along with others
Children building together must share materials and agree on a plan. They have to handle the moment when someone else's elbow knocks their wall down. These are real social skills, learned in real situations.
Making the most of blocks at home
Choose good blocks
Plain wooden unit blocks in a range of sizes are hard to beat. A set where the sizes relate to each other, so two small squares equal one rectangle, teaches maths every time it is used. Add some cylinders and arches if you can. Large hollow blocks or cardboard bricks are great for building on a bigger scale.
Give it space and time
Block play needs floor space and enough time to get going. If possible, let a construction stay up overnight so your child can come back to it, especially during the school holidays.
Add simple extras
Toy animals and small cars bring buildings to life. So do people figures. Scarves and paper turn into rivers and roads, and masking tape on the floor can mark out a town.
Talk about the building
Describe what you see instead of praising generally. "You made the tower taller than the chair." "You used four long blocks for the walls." Ask open questions such as "How did you make that stay up?" or "What could you add next?"
Offer challenges
For older preschoolers, a small challenge can stretch their thinking. "Can you build a bridge a toy car can drive under?" "Can you build a house for this teddy?" "Can you build something as tall as your knee?" Keep it playful, and accept their own ideas if they would rather build something else.
Let them knock it down
For young children, knocking down is part of the learning. It teaches cause and effect, and it is a lot of fun. Set a simple rule that each child only knocks down their own building, and there will be far fewer tears.
Common questions
"My child only builds towers." Towers are an important stage, and some children enjoy them for a long time. Try offering toy animals or cars that need a home, which naturally leads to enclosures and roads.
"Are building bricks like Lego just as good?" Small interlocking bricks build fine motor skills and are excellent for older preschoolers. Plain blocks offer something different, because children have to balance them, which teaches more about gravity and stability.
"Is block play just for boys?" Not at all. Every child benefits from building, and it is worth making sure girls are given the same encouragement and space to build as boys.
Building at Shaws
Construction is a regular part of the play-based day at Shaws. Children move between stations in a prepared environment instead of sitting through a lesson. Our maths teaching puts numbers into real situations, and building is one of the best. Our weekly S.T.E.A.M. sessions encourage children to build like engineers, and four of our five campuses have a tinkering corner. You can read more on our play-based learning page, or book a tour to see a room full of builders for yourself.
