Construction toys, such as wooden building blocks, Lego and Duplo bricks, and Mega Bloks, offer hours of creative playtime. Children love to assemble building blocks into cities, vehicles, animals, and more. This outlet for imagination is not only fun for young learners, but it also develops key skills and abilities.
In terms of child development, studies indicate that playing with construction toys promotes hand-eye coordination, motor skills, engineering skills, math skills, spatial reasoning, cognitive flexibility, problem-solving, creativity, divergent thinking, language skills, and social competence.
According to Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., “There is another way to have fun with construction toys, and it might help children develop a form of non-verbal intelligence that is crucial for achievement in many STEM fields. The ability to visualize three-dimensional objects. The ability to imagine and manipulate spatial information in your head. This alternative type of play is called structured block play, and it’s what happens when children try to recreate a construction by consulting a model or blueprint. Kids must analyze what they see, perceive the parts that make up the whole, and figure out how the parts relate to each other. To be really successful, they may also need to think quantitatively — to count. And it helps if kids can imagine what an object would look like from another angle.”
STEM Is for Preschoolers Too
The Lego Group, one of the most well-known construction toy brands, has realized the potential that building blocks have to help children to develop STEM and STEAM skills. The company writes on its website, “You can find lots of creative ideas and inspiration for easy to advanced STEM projects for toddlers to older kids. It’s not just about programming computers, filling large chalkboards with complicated equations, or building robots. At its core, STEM is really about understanding and engaging in the world around you, with curious observation, critical questions, and the creativity and courage to fearlessly try new things. Whether you’re stacking a tower of LEGO DUPLO bricks for fun or trying to find a new galaxy! Did you know that something as relatively simple as playing counting games with your toddler can spark their passion for STEM? Learning about numbers and basic math this way can help develop their observational and analytical skills in any field.”
Parents and Pre-K schools are seeing the benefits of encouraging children to engage in STEM and STEAM activities from a young age. With guidance from parents and teachers, children can develop their critical thinking skills and begin to learn the basic concepts of science, technology, engineering, art, and math.
In late 2018 and early 2019, LEGO® Education introduced Early Learning sets along with lesson plans designed for teachers to use in an educational setting. The goal of the new toy line is to “help prepare young children for school and life by building their social skills and for them to begin their STEAM journey early on.”
The Bigger Picture
Do the skills developed through playing with construction toys actually make a difference later in life? MIT graduate researcher Tiffany Tseng believes they can. She says, “Legos are a good introduction to communicating ideas with physical objects. Putting things together and taking them apart got me interested in how things work, and by the time I was an undergraduate, I knew I wanted to be an engineer. Every Lego project is a pathway to engineering. You aren’t necessarily thinking about the pedagogical concepts, but you’re applying them while you play.”
Tseng is not the only engineer who has been inspired by construction toys. She says of incoming MIT students, “They visit the lab and tell us how Lego inspired them to study engineering. They’re excited about applying the same principles they used in their Lego models to designs they plan to create as adult engineers.”
Conclusion
At Kids ‘R’ Kids Learning Academy of Valrico, the staff understands the value of play. Through teacher-directed and self-directed activities, children are encouraged to learn through an engaging, hands-on approach. The Kids ‘R’ Kids Learning Academy explains, “Life is an adventure when you are a preschooler. Our Learning Academy provides plenty of opportunities for your preschooler to explore and grow. The sounds of children laughing and playing are the sounds of children learning at Kids ‘R’ Kids.”
The Kids ‘R’ Kids Learning Academy program encourages cognitive development as well as social and emotional development. By engaging in purposeful play, children at Kids ‘R’ Kids Learning Academy of Valrico are immersed in hands-on activities designed to help them understand their world and discover their strengths.
For more information about the educational preschool, visit Kids ‘R’ Kids Learning Academy of Valrico on the web at kidsrkids.com/valrico. To speak with a staff member, call (813) 657-6200.
