Why blocks? I love blocks. Blocks aren't just about building. Children are strategizing, they are building homes for bugs, they are building zoos, homes, towers. Add some airplane toys and all of sudden they are traveling the world. Add some animals, pretty soon they are taking care of an entire forest. Blocks are the most versatile toy there is. It can literally be anything the child wants it to be. And building with blocks allows for science (balance, gravity, weight, cause/effect), technology (technology doesn't have to be electronic, adding magnets is technology, installing pulley and lever system, using a ramp or a wheel, all of that is technology), engineering (planning a structure, adjusting the structure to work), math (weights, sizes, measurements, counting, symmetry). ETC ETC ETC. It's also creativity, it's art. Blocks are AMAZING.
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Think about your child's interest and abilities. These toys might work for multiple ages and stages. In one stage of sensory toys for example there could be measuring cups and rice. In another you're adding magnets, in another you're adding people and making it a whole imaginary play scene. Think outside the box and how toys work together to support developmental areas. The toys don't do the teaching, what children create with the toys does the teaching!
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Think to yourself these two questions:
What toys/activities do I have that would support these developmental areas?
What developmental areas does my child need particular attention?
Three Rules of Thumb:
1. Toys that use more senses, will generally support more development....
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