Classic Block Play Develops Creative Minds

Play is an important part of your child’s learning and development. Classic American-made toys, such as unit blocks, help to encourage creativity, problem solving and critical thinking. The constructive and creative play that results from block play will benefit your child in all areas of learning and development. Children can use their imagination to create structures, while learning the practical science and math concepts required for building. Block play helps children learn number concepts, develop logical thinking and spatial understanding, and improve motor skills.

Observing block play is just one way to experience child-initiated learning. Parents observing children immersed in block play will begin to understand what the children learn through block play, including creativity, collaboration, science skills, math skills, and more. Developmentally appropriate play for children includes significant time spent with hands-on, manipulative materials. Blocks meet this need for hands-on exploration, and are a fundamental learning material because they require open play. Children playing with blocks can make them into anything they want them to be. The child decides.

The age of the child may determine the type of exploration and play that takes place. Young toddlers begin simply with sensory exploration, finding out the feel, shape, weight of the blocks. Next, children will move into fantasy play with the blocks, which helps them to think creatively, and problem solve. Children’s explorations with blocks help deepen their understanding of the practical world through trial and error experimentation with concepts such as gravity, stability and balance. In addition, collaborative experiences are plentiful when children interact with each other during block play.

Providing unit blocks for block play is just one way parents can enrich their child’s development, and encourage creativity, problem solving, critical thinking, and collaborative skills.

Unit Block sets are available from All-American Baby. Please visit our Toys page for more information on products or to purchase.

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