In Reception, we are very lucky to have a wide range of construction equipment from junk boxes to tiny curved blocks difficult to balance to large blocks for building outside.
Reception amaze us every day with their building and architectural skills.
Construction Play is proven to make a difference to the way children think and complete tasks. It’s a form of play all schools and nurseries adopt to aid child growth and development.
Construction play can be crazily vast. Simple things such as counting bricks, measuring weight and moving objects all contribute to making a child think outside the box. Children all have different ways of learning and thinking. Using construction play helps make education fun and engaging!
It’s no secret that children learn faster in their early years. This is why open-ended activities allow them to grow and develop to their full potential. Even something as simple as reaching for a brick will teach a child about limitations to areas.
You will notice when children engage in this way of playing, they will start to ask themselves the question ‘what if?’ – an indication they are challenging themselves. For example, they may stack blocks as high as they can until they fall down or put a particular amount of water into a bucket when using scales to see how full it should be before it becomes unbalanced. These simple things are constantly stimulating a child’s brain, hence, aiding their education. Playing with a variety of building and creative products helps children build self-confidence and encourages their independent learning too.