Nursery World - Case study: exploring structure

Troy is a three-year-old boy at Woodlands Park Nursery Centre who loves being active - riding bikes, kicking footballs and running in the garden. He is using his body and movement to explore large areas of space. Troy's main interest in his block play has been to stack blocks up high and sometimes to knock them down and see them scatter all over the floor. Troy's key worker, Judy, has recently noticed a new preoccupation in his building. After building a tower with the blocks, Troy put a toy person on the top. Later, he saw a large structure another child had built. He then went into the garden and gathered a handful of small stones. He came in and placed the stones carefully between the raised bumps of the bricks.

Troy's key worker, Judy, has recently noticed a new preoccupation in his building. After building a tower with the blocks, Troy put a toy person on the top. Later, he saw a large structure another child had built. He then went into the garden and gathered a handful of small stones. He came in and placed the stones carefully between the raised bumps of the bricks.

Reflecting on this, Judy wondered if Troy was interested in the ends or stopping off points of lines. This interest would suggest that Troy is now thinking about the lengths of lines in a more precise way, in addition to his previous interest in the dynamics of lines going up and crashing down. This new interest will play a crucial part in Troy's developing concepts around length, and where to begin and end measuring.

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