Our 5 Recommended Building Block Activities

Main Benefits of Building Blocks 

Here are some of the wonderful benefits of block play for kids:

• Boosts creativity: While there’s no right/wrong way to play, building blocks bring the wildest kids’ ideas to life better than conventional toys. Kids can dream and construct anything, making them the best toys for boosting imagination.
• Develops fine motor skills & hand-eye coordination: Imagination aside, the process of manipulating building blocks of different shapes and sizes helps kids exercise their little hands. This strengthens their fine motor skills, improves dexterity, and enhances their hand-eye coordination, which are crucial for learning how to write, draw, and do many other everyday tasks.
• Improves problem-solving skills & spatial reasoning: Kids will encounter many challenges naturally. Building blocks require fitting different shapes together, matching blocks, building steady structures and other tasks that encourage problem-solving and understanding how different objects relate in space (spatial awareness).
• Boosts social skills: Unlike typical toys, building blocks encourage social interaction. As kids play together, share ideas, negotiate roles, and cooperate to achieve common goals, they enhance their social/language skills.
• Improved focus/concentration: To enjoy the blocks’ full potential, kids must focus on the tasks at hand for an extended time. The planning, construction, and refining improves perseverance – a critical skill for learning.

Important: While building blocks offer the above benefits, it’s worth noting that not all the blocks are the same. There are brands that offer a wider variety as well as guarantee your child’s safety. For your kid to enjoy the above benefits and more, you need high-quality building blocks from renowned brands like Bright Day Big Blocks.

Here’s How to Play with Blocks: Our 5 Recommended Building Block Play Ideas and Activities

1. Tallest Tower of Blocks Challenge

Looking for an activity that encourages problem-solving, spatial awareness/reasoning, and introduces important concepts like measurement and height? Look no further! The tallest tower challenge does this and more by promoting collaboration and health competition when kids are teamed up.

You simply need a set of building blocks and groups of children to execute this activity. When choosing the blocks, consider large standard-sized ones as they offer a perfect base and are easier for small hands to manipulate when building a tower with blocks.

Here are examples of building blocks perfect for the tallest tower challenge.

2. Building a Zoo/City

If you are searching for a building block activity that ignites imagination and storytelling, you can opt for one that involves building a zoo or city. Kids can create enclosures with toy animals, buildings, roads, parks, etc., all made from different types of blocks. This activity will enhance kids’ understanding of the world around them and also foster narrative play.

To execute this activity perfectly, consider providing a wide variety of blocks that double up as everything you are bound to find in a zoo or city; a diverse set of options with different shapes and sizes will work. Specialized building blocks may be needed for creating distinct elements in a zoo, especially ones that resemble specific animals.

Luckily, there are companies like Bright Day Building Blocks with specific products that are perfect for building a zoo or city.

3. Color/Shape Sorting

Building block activities don’t need to be complicated. For a simple activity that reinforces shape and color recognition, sorting skills, as well as early math skills/concepts (early counting skills), consider color/shape sorting. Other benefits include refining fine motor skills during the sorting and placement of blocks.

This building block activity requires a variety of options and colors, such as round, rectangular, circular, and square blocks. The activity can involve sorting shapes and colorful blocks as well as building towers. Get building blocks for color/shape sorting here.

4. Building Block Puzzles

Here’s yet another activity for enhancing spatial reasoning, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills. Building block puzzles encourage kids to think of how different block pieces fit together to fill space or form specific shapes.

This activity is best done using a variety of basic block shapes (within a block system). Large interlocking blocks can work perfectly for simple puzzles. The activity can involve creating simple shapes or objects on paper, filling empty spaces, and more. Ideally, you should begin with puzzles that involve basic shapes and gradually move to executing complex outlines. 

Check out some building block puzzles to consider for a playground space.

5. Chain Reaction Block Creations

For a more complex building block activity that introduces kids to basic physics concepts like momentum, gravity, cause and effect, etc., you can consider chain reaction creations. These engaging, educative and fun block activities require a mix of different block types (from standard interlocking ones to longer flat block pieces for ramps and some specialized pieces to boost the fun). 

This activity can involve creating domino-like block towers, rolling balls down a ramp, triggering levers, and more. Most importantly, chain reaction creations are about trial and error, making them perfect for encouraging experimentation and open-ended play.

Final Thoughts

Building blocks are great substitutes for typical toys because they are not only fun but instrumental in kids’ growth, like developing fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, creative skills, improving problem-solving skills, boosting language development/communication skills, improving concentration and more. 

With the above recommended activities, your kids are guaranteed to have fun and still enjoy developmental benefits. However, not all building blocks are built the same. For safe small and large EVA foam blocks perfect for a variety of activities, consider building blocks from Bright Day Big Blocks. 

Check out our full catalog here. You can contact Bright Day Big Blocks online for prices, types of blocks for kids, other activities using giant building blocks, blocks for toddlers, and more. Alternatively, you can call: +1 (818) 914-6541 or email: contact@brightdaybigblocks.com.