Blocks: A Material for Creative Play

e [Music] children at [Music] play in any play program many different raw materials serve as the tools of children's [Music] play whatever the activity the raw material used is a medium for expression and growth today more and more blocks are being used as a vital material of creative play blocks of various types and sizes large hollow blocks floor blocks Playhouse blocks and table blocks blocks are fun to play with and fun and learning go hand in hand these 5-year-olds up on a play roof have built a house with hollow blocks it hardly resembles a house but for these children it's a very real house nevertheless within the house they can play at being a [Music] family family of course involve cooperation as well as sometimes [Music] conflict however peace is soon restored and the mother admonishes her youngsters to go to bed [Music] using the same type of blocks this time in conjunction with two metal saw horses other children build a dog house and one of the children is the dog good doggy good doggy woof woof woof wof woof as children become more aware they often add other equipment and materials to the blocks with which they build here a lad box is combined with playboards to build another house a house with a roof [Music] they've also added a fire [Music] escape very handy for a bit of [Music] sunbathing with blocks children can can make many things the same hollow blocks now combined with some canvas make a fine tunnel they crawl in for adventure explorers miners whatever their imaginations make them for the moment [Music] again and again as children play we see them developing a new sense of power over materials these children play with their boat with sails hoisted to the wind a ship needs not only the sea but a dock to put in it so blocks have their place here too and a whole Saga of Adventure and of work is played out before the afternoon is [Music] over one crew hand is ready to sail off again but the captain shouts get out we've going to finish building the dock first [Music] and building the dock turns into quite an [Music] activity now to put some cargo aboard and head out to to see again but not before we catch 40 Winks to fortify us for the adventures [Music] [Applause] ahead with blocks children's imaginative way takes on a quality of reality this is to be a manned missile for travel into outer space for these children it is practically a working model with which they can visit other planets and distant solar [Music] systems with their helmet secured they're all set to take off into the unknown calling the moon calling the moon we're taking off hey buddy got room for one more sure just get yourself a seat and the seat of course is a block okay men get ready to blast [Music] off a cookout up on the play [Music] roof outdoor cooking is where the man is supposed to shine so the boys take over the responsibility of being the chefs in [Music] charge in this instance blocks are to play a supportive role literally as well as figuratively they have no table no benches but with blocks and playboards the children soon build what they [Music] need as in most play activity there's more to this party than meets the eye a budget planning meeting preceded it and a shopping trip to a neighborhood [Music] store tastes [Music] good with blocks a youngster can play play with friends in a group activity or he can play alone this youngster has built himself a steam ship with floor blocks a toy truck and column blocks will form part of the [Music] cargo as with clay or paint and other materials he may experiment and improvise discover things for himself at his own [Music] pace absorbed in his work he is oblivious to all that is going on about [Music] him at another time we see the same boy working within a group using the same floor blocks these children are are building a complex missile launching [Music] platform the atomic cannons are positioned and repositioned with an eye to Aesthetics as well as to practical utility harmoniously balanced fortifications are part of the overall plan block play that calls for intricate design imagination care and artistry [Music] later the boys use table blocks to create Grand Central [Music] Station again blocks serve as a means of expressing their awareness of people and of the surrounding environment [Music] they incorporate various elements they recall from their trip to the station shops Advertising Signs [Music] using Playhouse blocks these children set out to build a [Music] clubhouse their Mastery of materials is greater their range of experience broader [Music] a house needs electric lights a doorbell a telephone so a budding electrical engineer is soon hard at [Music] work another boy is setting up the House's electric lighting system the leader drops by and shows a sincere interest in their work she's invited to give the phone a try yes it works and the leader's reward is the Warm Glow of PR wi reflected in the boy's smile a house will need furniture too so the boys set to work to build a few [Music] benches elsewhere in the room another youngster is finishing a table for the house a whole Community cooperating toward a common [Music] goal and so we observe in these few examples blocks used as tools for reenacting and widening children's experience adaptable to different age levels as a source of pleasure and enjoyment blocks as a vehicle for achieving a new and a satisfying sense of power over materials and events and over themselves as individuals and as members of a group [Music]