5 Fun and Educational Preschool Activities with Blocks

Introduction to Building Blocks for Kids

From age 3-5 years, kids are like sponges, soaking up all the information they come across. They also develop crucial skills at this time. While there are many types of toys that capture their attention at this age, your task as a parent, caregiver, or teacher should be equipping them with toys that help them develop at an incredible pace. 

Few toys offer the kind of developmental power that building blocks offer. Since there are many types of blocks and many activities, our focus here will be on the best ones, the most fun and educational activities that preschoolers can do with blocks.

But first things first. Why are building blocks so good for preschoolers?

Top Benefits of Building Blocks for Preschoolers

Building blocks go beyond fun. The top developmental benefits of building blocks for preschoolers include:

  • Enhancing fine motor skills: Ability to grasp, stack, and manipulate building blocks.
  • Improves hand-eye coordination: While grasping and stacking blocks, kids coordinate their hands and eyes.
  • Enhances problem-solving skills and critical thinking: It takes some critical thinking to perform most, if not all, block activities.
  • Boosts imagination/creativity: Blocks offer endless creation possibilities.
  • Spatial reasoning and mathematical skills: Blocks help preschoolers understand important concepts like symmetry and balance. They also introduce preschoolers to math concepts like shapes, counting, size, and more.
  • Language and communication skills: Preschoolers also get to enhance their communication skills when describing their ideas and playing with other kids.
  • Teaches persistence and patience: The block-building process is full of challenges. Sometimes block towers tumble. As kids rebuild, try out different approaches, and instruct them to take turns during play. That way, kids will develop persistence and patience, which are critical skills for future growth and success.

Top 5 Block Play Activities for Preschoolers 

Now that we know the benefits of block play, let’s discuss the top 5 educational and fun block activities for preschoolers:

1. Stacking Blocks: The Classic Challenge

Stacking is a fundamental building block activity for kids. While simple, it is surprisingly educational and fun. Beyond the joys of creating the tallest towers and intentionally watching them tumble, stacking blocks teaches preschoolers important principles like gravity, balance, and spatial reasoning.

 

What’s more, they’ll get to learn firsthand via trial and error, which is an important lesson in life. Stacking blocks also refines motor skills and boosts hand-eye coordination as blocks are being carefully placed on top of each other. Let’s also not forget the math skills that are taught during stacking, like symmetrical structures and simple patterns.

2. Table Top Builders Space

Preschoolers also stand to learn and have unmatched fun when they get a dedicated space for block-based games,  such as a builder zone, which is just a tabletop specifically for their block-building activities. The space can feature special panels and theme-based blocks. 

The panels offer a stable and dedicated space (with connection points) to allow more intricate construction than on open floors or typical tables. This activity creates a safe foundation for collaboration in more intricate block-building activities.

3. Block Mazes and Ramps

You could also use blocks to help preschoolers boost problem-solving skills and explore important concepts in physics, like cause and effect. Preschoolers can build an intricate maze by arranging building blocks in a manner that creates walls and pathways. 

This activity requires important skills like spatial awareness and planning. For added educational value, ramps can be added to introduce concepts like momentum and incline. Block mazes and ramps are a perfect tool for experimenting with how far a toy (like a car, for example) can travel with respect to angle and obstacles.

4. Block Sorting & Pattern Play

Preschoolers need to learn basic math concepts, and there’s no better way to do this than by providing a wide range of blocks (in different sizes, colours, and block shapes). This exercise is perfect for developing classification skills. It’s a fun activity that lays the groundwork for mathematical sequences.

5. Block Storytelling & Character Creation

Lastly, we have storytelling using building blocks for kids, as these can also be used to create a character. This activity is perfect for language development, it also helps with imaginative skills. As kids use their imagination and build different things using blocks, they are prompted with questions and, in the process, they are able to narrate their play, develop vocabulary, and improve their storytelling abilities.

Final Thoughts

Building blocks for kids stand out from conventional toys due to their fun and educational approach to play. However, it’s worth noting that those benefits can only be as good as the quality of the blocks in question. You need safe and high-quality blocks to be able to execute the above activities perfectly. Most importantly, you need variety, and that’s precisely what Bright Day Big Blocks offers. 

Buy High-Quality EVA Foam Building Blocks for Preschoolers at Bright Day Big Blocks 

Bright Day Big Blocks offers EVA foam building blocks for kids that are safe, soft, and fun. Most importantly, the blocks are durable (100% guaranteed quality) and come in a wide variety. 

Buy different types of blocks for preschool children, including giant building blocks, simple blocks, colorful blocks, foam blocks, balance blocks, animal habitats blocks, animal signs blocks, and more for motor skill development, bilateral coordination, logical thinking, boosting social interaction, cognitive skills, and shape recognition.

Contact Bright Day Big Blocks online or call +1 (818) 914-6541 for inquiries including custom block designs, block prop ideas, custom building block shapes, and more!