Large Wooden Blocks 60 Pieces
Large Wooden Blocks 60 Pieces
Large Wooden Blocks 60 Pieces
Large Wooden Blocks 60 Pieces

Large Wooden Blocks 60 Pieces

Regular price R 575.00
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Occupational therapists (OTs) and teachers report that playing with  blocks is a fundamental activity for child development that builds physical, cognitive, social and emotional skills. Large blocks, especially in the early years, are noted for developing gross motor skills, spatial awareness, and problem-solving abilities through open-ended, creative play.

In the box
• 60 Large wooden blocks
• Shapes include squares, rectangles, triangles, semi-circles and cylinders.

Occupational therapists use large wooden blocks as a "power tool" in therapy to address developmental goals across multiple domains.
  • Gross motor skills: The large size and weight of the blocks encourage children to use large muscle movements as they lift, carry, squat, and reach. This whole-body engagement improves balance, strength, and coordination.
  • Motor planning: This play helps children learn motor planning, which involves observing a task, organizing a plan of action, and then executing it.
  • Bilateral coordination: Activities like holding one block while placing another develop a child's ability to use both hands together, a skill necessary for many daily tasks like writing or tying shoes.
  • Visual-perceptual skills: OTs use blocks to help children improve their visual perception—the ability to interpret and organize visual information. Copying block designs strengthens skills like spatial relations, visual memory, and form constancy.
  • Therapeutic play: For children with specific needs, such as those with autism, wooden blocks offer a calming and engaging sensory experience.
Early childhood educators consider block play a cornerstone of their curriculum, recognizing its role in building foundational skills for academic and life success.
  • Physical and fine motor skills: While large blocks promote gross motor development, the precision needed to balance and align them also refines fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and dexterity.
  • Cognitive development and STEM skills:
    • Math concepts: Children explore early math skills such as counting, sorting, size comparisons, estimation, patterns, and geometry.
    • Science and engineering: Blocks offer hands-on lessons in physics, including balance, weight, gravity, and stability. Children learn through trial and error, testing hypotheses, and learning from failure.
  • Problem-solving and critical thinking: Children face intentional challenges (e.g., "How can I build a tall tower?") and in-the-moment problems (e.g., "Why does this structure keep falling?"). Solving these issues builds reasoning and critical thinking skills.
  • Creativity and imagination: Large blocks act as an open-ended medium, allowing children to create anything they can imagine, from castles to cities, and use their creations for storytelling. This fosters creative and innovative thinking.
  • Social-emotional growth:
    • Collaboration: Working together on large structures teaches important social skills like sharing, taking turns, and communication.
    • Negotiation: When conflicts arise over materials or designs, children must learn to negotiate and resolve issues constructively.
    • Self-esteem: Successfully building a structure gives a child a powerful sense of accomplishment and boosts their confidence.
  • Language and literacy: Block play creates opportunities for rich conversations with peers and teachers. Children use new vocabulary related to position, size, and function as they narrate their building processes.
Teachers and OTs often observe a child's developmental progress through predictable stages of block play, indicating their developmental level. 
  • Stage 1 (Discovery): Very young children explore blocks primarily through their senses, carrying them around and dropping them, rather than intentionally building.
  • Stage 2 (Stacking): Around 2 to 3 years of age, children begin building basic horizontal rows and vertical towers through repetitive stacking.
  • Stage 3 (Bridging): Children learn to connect two blocks with a third to form a bridge, demonstrating an early understanding of spatial relationships.
  • Stage 4 (Enclosures): Around age 4, children begin building enclosures, creating defined spaces for imaginative play.
  • Stage 5 (Patterns and Symmetry): Children's constructions become more elaborate and include patterns and symmetrical designs, indicating developing math skills.
  • Stage 6 (Early Representational Play): Around ages 4 to 5, children start giving their structures names, making their play more intentional and symbolic.
  • Stage 7 (Advanced Representational Play): Older children build complex, detailed, and realistic structures, often planning their designs and engaging in cooperative dramatic play.

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