Treasure!

This is a beautiful thing to find in the storage space of your new apartment:  a handmade trunk, covered in an interestingly patterned fabric.

I was happy enough to find it because we need a new ottoman, and buying a new one just isn't very interesting to me.  But the fun did not end at interesting fabric and a place to rest my feet...

It is filled with handmade blocks.  There are a few lincoln logs (the old wooden ones!) and some dowels, but this is basically a mix of squared off pieces of wood.  

I've long thought that I want a big bowl of legos on my coffee table - If I can ever snag some used ones, it will still happen.  But now, when I, or anyone in the house for that matter, is looking to play, we'll just open up the magic trunk!

I have a feeling you'll be seeing these far too much in this space!  Its playtime!

What are we learning through block play?

Fantastic image found via Designs for Childhood.

Blocks

"A far away lonely kingdom"

Contemplating

Bon week-end à tous!

Construction

Each child built their own block structure, and then drew it in their sketchbook. The children in my class last year were a little bit older, so the constructions were really different. Now, with late threes and early fours, its like I'm getting to learn about blocks all over again.

In particular, I'm juxtaposing the block play here to this block play last year in my mind. I regret not documenting children's constructions better over the course of last year. What if children could really see how their blocks structures change over the course of time?

Grown Up Block Play

It's good to see blocks outside of the classroom...I saw them here.


I see the kids so engaged with block play - I'd like to settle in and build for an hour or so myself sometimes. Do you ever feel like that? Perhaps the block area should be included in classroom environments for children older than PreK...I'm thinking about how children in high school could benefit!

via fine little day

Castles

On the day we worked in small groups with the overhead projector, another station was block building. It is a very boy dominated area in our classroom, so I thought we should get some girls in, and have the children work cooperatively with some new people.

Out of the six groups, four built castles.





As each new group entered, I said, "Before you build, talk together about what you will make as a group." For the groups that built a castle, it was the first idea shouted out by a child. Two of the groups built their castle in just a few minutes and then began playing with it, using small cylinders as people. The castles had slides and pools and stairs and rooms - they were well planned. I had not heard so many "I have an idea!!" moments in such a short span of time in a while.

And I'm also noticing the pictures now. In our journals, at the writing table...

"It has so many rooms!" - Je

And, as to be expected, we're writing about castles. Tales of princes and princesses who marry each other and move into a castle are the subject of at least one book written in the classroom each day.

The girls are interested...the boys are interested...

Lately,

at choice time...