At Girrinbai we value unit blocks as a creative , imaginative and valuable learning media. Unit blocks are used during indoor free play time . As the children build and construct we take photos of their final products. I am sure that after viewing our block photos of the children's creations , you will see how wonderful these blocks can be for developing the children's understanding in balance , symmetry and spatial awareness. They also enrich the children's language , problem solving and social skills.

Please check back often as we will change our photos every two months.

At the bottom of this page , I have included an article from the National Association for the Education of Young Children .This is an excellent reference to the benefits of using unit blocks with children.

Blocks can provide children with a wonderful sense of achievement.

Our Architect built a dance stage with people doing their ballet dancing.

Our Architect begin her Hotel building.

This is her finished Hotel. I think I would like to stay there. It looks five star!!

One Architects completed  Bat Cave building. Batman and Robin were sleeping inside.

Our Architects building a jail.

Our  Architect built 2 dimensional house. He classified the furniture in groups.

The second day our previous Architect joined another peer and together they built a 3 dimensional house.

Our Architects created what they called the " tower Building." This is the tower at  Speers Point Park where the children can climb up o the top and then slide down. The mums and dads watch from the bottom. There is a car park located close by.

Another view of the Tower building.

Our Architects role playing using their hotel and plane behind.

This Architect created a Tall Hotel.

Our Architects working on their house and jail project.

Another perspective of their house.

Our Architect learning about balance and symmetry in the sand.

This is Harvey Bay.

Our Architects with their safe building that no baddies can enter.

This is the house with several exit doors. This has been introduced in block building since we have been practicing fire drills.

Our Architect with her very long bed that even Lyn could sleep in.

Our Architects created a farm.

Our Architect created a Police Station.

Our Architects working on their Igloo.

UNIT BLOCKS

-An article from the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Unit blocks are ideal for learning because they involve the child as a whole:

the way she moves her muscles, the way she discovers how different objects feel in her hands, the way she thinks about spaces and shapes, and the way she develops thoughts and interests of her own.

Around the age of three, children learn how to balance and fit pieces together to build sturdier towers, then bridges and enclosures. Threes and fours begin to recognise designs and patterns, their towers and buildings becoming works of art. In kindergarten and early primary grades, blocks allow children to recreate structures, cities and landscapes from everyday life.

BLOCKS HELP CHILDREN LEARN

Socially:

Blocks encourage children to make friends and co-operate. 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 kindergarteners 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.

Block play is open-ended, and its possibilities are limitless. Even as children grow and develop new interests and abilities, blocks remain an active, creative learning tool.

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