Play with Blocks

PLAY TO LEARN:

Children learn through play. Playing with blocks is an activity that supports a wide range of developmental skills across different age groups. There are many ways to use blocks, including the following (if needed, tilt phone sideways to see both columns): 

First Steps	Next Steps
Encourage your child to knock over a block tower.	Stack the blocks and kick them over or roll another block to knock them over like bowling. See how many can be stacked before the tower falls over.
Place two or three blocks slightly out of your child’s reach and let them roll, crawl or reach (lying, sitting or standing) to get them.	Play hide and seek with the blocks. Give clues as needed.
Make animal sounds imitating the animals on the blocks.	Pretend the blocks are eyeglasses or food for toy animals.
Put blocks over your eyes to play Peek-A-Boo. Ask your child, “Where’s [name]?” and then say “Hi!” when you remove the blocks.	Close your eyes and guess the animal or number by feeling.
Say “up” or “more” every time you stack a block. When they fall down, say “uh oh” and laugh together.	Line blocks up and step over them. Stack the blocks higher for a challenge.
Squeeze the block to make it squeak and see if your child looks for it. Try squeaking the block from above, each side, and behind them.	Line the blocks up by number order.
Bang two blocks together and see if your child will do the same.	Count the blocks. Identify the numbers. Count the animals and shapes on each block.
Place a block under a blanket or pillow and encourage your child to find it.	Expand on your child’s language– if they say “block,” you could respond, “one red block.”
Squeeze the block to make it squeak. Then hand it to your child to imitate the action.	Move around the room while pretending to be the animal on the block.
Place the blocks in and out of containers.	Roll a block to see how far it can go or roll it back and forth between you and your child. Model the phrases “my turn” and “your turn.”
Move a block side-to-side and up-down for your child to follow the movement with their eyes.	Make a pyramid with the blocks starting with four on the bottom.