Building blocks have been around for centuries, and kids are still just as fascinated with them today as their parents and grandparents were before them. From a parent’s perspective, it’s no surprise that blocks have stood the test of time: in terms of early childhood development, they’re valuable tools. The early education experts at Over The Rainbow Kids Place in West Henrietta, NY, know that your children are always learning, especially when they’re playing. Here, the day care shares their favorite ways to help prepare your little one for preschool and kindergarten, all by playing with blocks.

How Building Blocks Can Help in Early Childhood Development

1. Gross Motor Skills & Hand-Eye Coordination

Building with blocks requires a lot of physical activity for small children. They scatter their materials all over the floor and tip-toe through the chaos, snatching up all the right pieces for the creation they have in their head. Next, they carry their treasures to the area they’ve chosen to build on, stopping to collect any stragglers, then get to work stacking, balancing, and creating. It’s a fantastic exercise in coordinated movement. Take this a step further by joining in on the build, pointing out specific blocks for your little one to pick up and bring to you.

2. Sorting Objects Into Groups

Sorting is an integral part of early childhood development and education. Encouraging your child to group blocks by color, shape, or size is a fun way to practice sorting, and it’s a gateway to talking about more advanced subjects. Sorting interlocking blocks into tall and short piles, for example, can turn into a lesson about parts or halves versus the whole. Separating the blocks by color can be a segue into learning about primary and secondary colors.

3. Counting & Patterns

If your child is learning their numbers, building blocks are a perfectly tangible means of working on counting. Ask your child to count out a certain number of blocks, such as how many they’ve used to build a particular structure. Combine counting with color sorting to make and recognize patterns such as “one red, one blue” or “two yellow, one purple.”

As a parent, watching and facilitating early childhood development through intentional play is always a blast. At Over The Rainbow Kids Place, their team of childcare professionals understands that teaching with play and encouraging discovery is paramount to fostering a lifelong interest in learning. To learn more about their services, call (585) 334-2530 or visit their website today.