We’re all spending more time at home. We’re searching for new and interesting things to do with our children, something we don’t need to spend a fortune on. Stacking is one such activity. Children have fun and it helps their development.
These are some of the benefits:
- Improves hand–eye coordination.
- Improves fine motor skills and teaches intentional grasp and release.
- Improves visual perceptual skills.
- Works on concentration.
- Teaches patience and persistence.
- Useful for promoting language and counting.
You might have shop-bought stackables and that’s great, but you don’t need them. Everyday household items work well.
Have fun stacking disposable cups. How high a tower can you build?
- Add interest by adding shapes, colours or funny faces to the cups. Or add learning with numbers and letters.
- For a more advanced exercise, alternate stacking paper cups with paper plates.
- Use a ball to bowl over the completed stack for additional gross motor fun!
Use marshmallows, pieces of fruit or other small snacks to create an edible tower!
- Set a goal: once we’ve stacked this many (using clean, washed hands), we can eat it …
Collect some stones that are reasonably easy to stack. Better still, have fun painting them before making a rainbow rock tower.
- Use the opportunity to work on language, counting and colour identification.
Ask your child what else they would like to stack: tin cans, blocks of wood, one fuzzy toy on top of another. Encourage imagination and experimentation. There’s no wrong here, as long as it’s safe and no precious item can be broken.
When your child starts to stack blocks – or some similar object – you’ll notice them considering the problem, “How do I build something with these?” You’ll see them experiment with solutions. They’re practicing problem-solving skills and aiding their cognitive development. This kind of fun activity makes for a valuable educational game, building concentration and adding a new skill.