Research shows us that young children develop an incredible variety of skills when they play with blocks. Pierce County Library partnered with the Puget Sound Educational Service District on a project promoting block play: Blocks Let Our Children Know Science. (Project BLOCKS)
To begin, the youth services librarians and ECEAP/Head Start teachers participated in training in supporting learning during block play.
Then, once each month, the classroom children visited the Library for a Story Time and an extended Block Play period. Each child in the program received a free set of 100 wooden blocks with which to play at home. This came with an activity sheet for parents/care givers written in English and in Spanish.
Each teacher and librarian received a “Project Blocks Notebook” of resources and information.
Block Play Brochure
|WAKids Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills|
|Assessment Checklist and Observation Guide|
|WAKids Progressions of Development & Learning Objectives|
|WaKids State and Regional Partnership Presentation|
|Potential Contributions of Blocks for Early Childhood Curriculum
* Adapted from Charlotte and Milton Brody, The Block Book, Published by NAEYC
|Block Play Book List|
|Family Letter on Block Play|
|Play with Blocks! Activity Sheet (English)|
|Play with Blocks! Activity Sheet (Spanish)|
|Block Party Survey|
|Developmental Stages of Block Play (Mar 2011)|
|Block-Play May Improve Language Development in Toddlers (Oct 2007)|
|Idaho Parents and Children Learn Math Concepts Through Block Fest (Jul 2009)|
|Block Play in the Library||
|Blocks as a Tool for Learning: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (Jan 2001)|
|Early Math Skills: Building Blocks for the Future (Mar 2008)|
|Toy Blocks and Constructions Toys: A Guide for the Science Minded Parent|
|Final Project BLOCKS Report (2013)|
|Project Block Debrief (May 2012)|
|Project BLOCKS Budget (2012)|
|WAKids Gold Comparison (2012 - 2013)|
|WAKids Gold Class Assessments (2012 - 2013)|
Tel: 253-548-3300 Fax: 253-537-4600 Washington Relay TTY: 711
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