In the play under observation, children first carried blocks to the play area, then piled them and made necessary roads, and created necessary structure and constructions. PSED (personal, social and emotional development) Block play allows children to co-construct and negotiate. 0000032536 00000 n Connect with professionals in your community at conferences, networking events, advocacy efforts, leadership opportunities and more! Infants and Toddlers Block Play: STEM in the Blocks Center regentsctr.uni.edu 117 Schindler Education Center University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614-0616 regents.center@uni.edu 319-273-2101 PURPOSE OF BLOCK PLAY IN THE INFANT-TODDLER CLASSROOM Blocks are timeless, classic play materials that have endured as an . Make your own DIY magnetic blocks for a different way to build. For Child A, I was able to carry out a longitudinal study over a time period of 5 months. Block play requires fine and gross motor skills. Iowa City, IA 52242. Need help with Stage Blocking: Details & Examples? 0000010834 00000 n Observations and recognising schemas and new developmental stages and skills will help you to plan ahead and reignite interest in the construction area. He also attends a child care center that encourages block play. %PDF-1.5 Office of Teaching, Learning & Technology . Child A showed the capability of the usual cognitive milestones usually shown by a two year old child and has a wide understanding of words and phrases when spoken to. 4 0 obj Are they choosing and exploring their own ways of doing things? Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. In particular, it supports the Exploration strand, where children gain confidence in and control of their bodies. endobj For example, while capable of cooperative play, there are days when a child may wish to build alone. Use recycled squeeze bottles and water paints to colour and create patterns on the pallet blocks. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Child A had pointed to the snack table and said food I told child A not now, but later and child A was able to understand these simple time concepts and continued to play. Support our mission and reach the NAEYC audience through your advertisement, conference exhibit booth, or sponsorship. Use as props for dramatic play this is our outdoor toolshop! Here are ten aspects of learning that can expect a boost, many originally highlighted by the National Association for the Education of Young Children: 1. Encourages social and emotional growth as they take turns, work as a group, share resources, make plans,build self esteem and pride in accomplishments, gradually extend attention spans. 4.4 - Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technology and natural and processed materials. I hope you are feeling inspired to try out a few new ideas to extend block play and perhaps reignite the children's interest in this area if it has been waning or getting a little destructive at times. 0000009397 00000 n Assignment Lab can not guarantee the quality of the user generated content such as sample papers above. It also encourages self-reliance, increases attention span and develops sense of self. It is recognised that play is a valuable and effective way of learning within the early years. The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. For his first Christmas, I gave my grandson, Dagan, a set of wooden unit blocks. Contact us with your questions-- we're here to help! We've received widespread press coverage since 2003, Your UKEssays purchase is secure and we're rated 4.4/5 on reviews.io. This is a great time to start providing model animals, people and vehicles. We love handbags from the op shop, small baskets, cardboard boxes (shoe boxes and tissue boxes are a fantastic size!) *You can also browse our support articles here >. Social interaction with adults and peers unlocks further benefits, while using blocks can support story creation and collaborative storytelling. Language skills were also cited as a key area of progression. Download an overview of our classroom toolkit. To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below: If you are the original writer of this essay and no longer wish to have your work published on UKEssays.com then please: Our academic writing and marking services can help you! How can you use _______ differently? Most of all I see he is building towers, cities and often a loose community structure. Using these durable materials has enabled both primary and secondary schools to enjoy a host of benefits from a basic block. I canvassed NAEYC staff and Young Children consulting editors to ask, What do you think children learn through block play? Here are some responses: Problem solving. Children will feel the texture of the blocks, the smoothness, weight, size and the sound they make when they are dropped. Provide pictures of bridges, block constructions and other designs for them to try and copy or modify to their own plan. Self-expression Children are able to express themselves through their play, creations and discoveries a form of communication thats particularly valuable for bilingual or non-verbal children. 2. Disclaimer: This is an example of a student written essay.Click here for sample essays written by our professional writers. By selecting a preferring hand to write with and by using the appropriate grip, this shows further advances within language development milestones. Children may like to include role play with dress ups. Problem-solving Blocks offer a great platform to develop problem-solving and reasoning skills. Login to the Early Learning Accreditation Portal to take charge of your accreditation process. Learn about and purchase the best books and resources to support young children's learning and development. 0000044661 00000 n From simple essay plans, through to full dissertations, you can guarantee we have a service perfectly matched to your needs. Children playing with blocks are practicing a wide variety of developmental skills, including manipulating objects, creating structures, and working together. Amanda happily approached the dress-up area with Debbie She was excited when she chose a pink dress, and matching shoes. Parents and childhood educators may choose the most suitable variety from many types of blocks for children. Child B was able to identify her name from a story book. Join our learning research newsletter, all the news from the worlds leading universities and schools. Children at this stage often love to transport blocks in wagons, in baskets, boxes, and bags. How did you? Throughout my time in placement settings, I have observed a wide range of children from the age of 3 months to 11 years old. Are the children involved? Blocks and other loose parts can be moved freely by children, to be combined and recombined in countless ways.Angela Eckhoff, Science. Thank you so much ? $filesize = (filesize($file) * .0009765625) * .0009765625; // bytes to MB Observation of Child at Play Time: 6:04-6:38 Location: School field/Playground Child: Abigail 72 months girl Description: light red hair and freckles all over her face very outgoing talkative and youngest out of two girls loves to socialize in the 1st grade. Observation : I walked up to the park where Abigail and her team . endobj The purpose of this professional learning is for teachers to view and reflect on an example of how one teacher documents children's learning in kindergarten.. By understanding which stage our child is at we can work to meet their developing needs. Within this text, I shall be outlining six of the observations I have conducted over the past two years and explain the child in terms of their development, identifying areas where there are deviations of the expected norms of development. The child is exploring the blocks with all of their senses. Block play enhances young childrens development across several different domains. Throughout this observation, I witnessed that Child Threes attitudes towards language are not of the expected norms, as unlike the other children around the similar age were shouting words, able to point to areas on the face when named, saying mama and dada and in some cases, a variety of other two syllable words. Study for free with our range of university lectures! Child A had lifted one of the staff members observation book, Child A was told to put the book back on the table in which they completed this action, showing understanding of this sentence. For more ideas on how to create an effective block play center, check out the following eXtension Alliance for Better Child Care articles: For information on other learning areas in the child care setting, take a look at the following articles: PhotobyDiane Bales/ CC BYhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/. for give me a lot of ideas ?. Using a range of fully completed observations from placements (six in total), evaluate how you would improve the childrens learning experiences. Block play offers an open-ended, creative and valuable play and learning experience available to every setting. How can you make a bridge that goes over part of the structure? 2. This area known as Oracy highlights the link between thinking and talking. Stay current on all things related to your professional association, from book releases to policy updates. The child loves to carry, move, dump, hold, pile, knock over, touch and pass the blocks. Physical development Block play promotes the development of spatial awareness and develops hand-eye coordination as children reach for, lift, move and build with blocks, strengthening their fingers, hands and arms. 200 South Capitol Street. Creativity - Blocks are loose parts, meaning children are free to combine and re-combine them in countless ways. Engage with our policy agendas, advocacy resources, and current initiatives. }u5/&n1K#Xx!D1Gt{Ds9acGy|D'KYdQ!/&3,*L]-C:>[5fLgYT#pIY\Ke1^T0 v./&3,j8MxqdQaf,QcL]`|9S27dWF5eV f`Xk>Ak&[SY$!6BY`5_]&$*,&^P %i Here you can choose which regional hub you wish to view, providing you with the most relevant information we have for your specific region. Become an organizational or corporate partner to inspire early childhood education at the local and national level. Child Three is 30 months old, (2 Years, 6 Months) and was observed in a Day Care setting. Physical development - Block play promotes the development of spatial awareness and develops hand-eye coordination as children reach for, lift, move and build with blocks, strengthening their fingers, hands and arms.