Lodestone Systems/K12IRC.org
 

Forums

Forums / Early Childhood / Do you have blocks in your classroom?

Early Childhood

Do you have blocks in your classroom?

Author Post
Peggy Ashbrook Margaret Ashbrook 11003 Points

It's always interesting to see how some preK and Kindergarten (even up to 2nd grade!) classrooms have whole shelf units dedicated to a variety of building blocks and how blocks are completely absent in some classrooms. 
Do you have blocks in your classroom? What kind? 
Do your students have enough time to build to their hearts' content?
What are the standards and concepts your students engage in while using blocks?

Two resources I've found useful:

Katrice Trego Katrice 755 Points

I am so excited to try this with students! What great ideas :)

Malorie Fenwick Malorie Fenwick 870 Points

The Kindergarten classroom that I am student teaching in have all kinds of blocks. The students mainly play with them on Fridays in the afternoons as a part of fun stations. There are small colored blocks, bigger wooden blocks, and Legos. The students are constantly creating different buildings with them and it is always everyone's favorite thing to play with. It would be great if we could integrate them into a lesson.

Christine Frewin Christine Frewin 1615 Points

Our kindergarten classroom does not have blocks in the traditional sense, but we do have unifix cubes. I would really like to see the earl childhood classrooms move back towards the hands-on activities that promoted fine motor skills, and coordination. Now it seems we are supposed to rely only on scissors, pencils, and glue to develop the fine motor skills of the hands.

Maritza Grajeda Maritza Grajeda 1455 Points

I am a student teacher and I am currently placed in a pre-k classroom. When I first visited my cooperating teachers classroom, I was surprised to find out that she didn't have any blocks in her class. I remember asking her about it and her telling me that she doesn't like for students to believe that they go to school to play with blocks. Therefore, she never puts them out but she does have different types of manipulatives available for them.

Kelli Gilbert Kelli Gilbert 885 Points

I am a student teacher in a kindergarten classroom and my cooperating teacher has lots of hands on manipulatives for students to use during class. They really enjoy being allowed to use these and it keeps them engaged in the lesson going on. I think having these manipulatives are important for kids of such a young age because they are learning to build their hand eye coordination through by doing this.

Anna Suarez Anna Suarez 640 Points

I am a student teacher in 4th grade math and science , the classrooms do not have blocks, they do have lots of manipulative and hands on materials for math and science. I visited a Pre-K class at the same school I student teach at and they do have blocks, and they do get to play with them during centers.

Angelica Lara Angelica Lara 1415 Points

I used to work in a school in which blocks were used in the classroom. In the pre-k and kindergarten classroom that I observe, I notice that the teachers let the students play with the blocks for 1 minute before going to the actual lesson. Blocks are useful for students because they are able to use the blocks to experiment and explore when doing different activities.

Post Reply

Forum content is subject to the same rules as NSTA List Serves. Rules and disclaimers