We’ve explored… block play

Block play is a staple in Early Learning and Childcare Centres in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, where the children have opportunities to experience high-quality block play at nursery.

Project leaders Jennifer Gilchrist and Michaela McCune wanted to expand this practice beyond nursery and demonstrate how block play is a beneficial resource for four- and five-year-olds when they transition from early years settings to school.

They gained a practice development grant from the Froebel Trust to introduce a new block-play area in the Primary One class at Dalreoch Primary School in Dumbarton in 2022 – with the aim of developing children’s vocabulary through symbolic play following the pandemic.

The majority of children attending the school live within what are known as Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation areas 1 and 2, which are some of the most deprived parts of the local authority area.

Jennifer says that the pair were aware of a national poverty-related attainment gap in Scotland, with research suggesting that this starts when children are in the early years, and that this was at risk of being heightened by children’s language skills not appearing as well developed as in previous years, likely because of reduced social contact during the lockdowns in the pandemic.

Through the block-play area, Jennifer says they aimed to provide children with ‘unhurried blocks of time in which to play with blocks’ in a language-rich environment.

creating the area

With support from the local authority, they purchased a full set of large wooden hollow blocks and small unitblocks for the children to freely explore, create and play with. Michaela says that the blocks resonate with the heritage and legacy of Froebel’s ‘Gifts’, with wooden blocks being used in Froebel-inspired practice to encourage children to build on their own knowledge and recreate events and ideas they are interested in.

Children helped staff to rearrange the room to create a special area for block play away from ‘through traffic’ to reduce risk of disturbance. The children gravitated to the familiar blocks and felt ownership of them. ‘They were delighted to see them and took off playing with them in the way they would have done at nursery,’ says Jennifer. ‘Block play is so open-ended and creative and has so much potential.’

She notes that often block play is regarded as part of the construction area and frequently linked to building site themes with hard hats, hi-vis jackets and diggers added as resources. They were cautious to avoid introducing these ideas so that children had the freedom to use the blocks in whatever way they chose.

A range of drawing and writing materials – including Post-It notes, graph and blank paper, fine-tipped black pens and clipboards – were incorporated into the block play environment with the aim of encouraging children to write, draw and plan their symbolic play. A floor book dedicated to block play was also introduced for children to share their record keeping, which encouraged discussion and reflection on learning.

‘Children were given freedom with guidance; the space to create, complemented by supportive adults who were available when needed,’ says Jennifer.

what they did

Children built with precision and without the constraints of an end result. At first, they engaged in predominantly solitary play but began to converse with each other as they recreated real situations. For example, one child, who had watched a news story on Covid-19, used the blocks to represent a hospital. Two boys pretended they were parents at night time and the blocks were ‘mess’ that they were getting their children to put away. ‘It’s bedtime now!’ one boy declared. ‘Tidy this up now before you go to bed!’

Children used the writing materials to plan their projects, with one child making a list of blocks needed to make their house and another commenting how they needed ‘two big ones for the bed’.

A child, with knowledge of the Titanic, used the blocks to represent the ill-fated ship and other boats and shared new vocabulary with peers: ‘See the propeller there?’ and ‘The bow is at the front of the boat. The stern is the back.’

Another explained what symmetry meant as they played with the blocks: ‘You need to put one block there. Then you need to put that at the next side. It’s the same.’

what was observed

Children who tended to flit from one area to another were engaged in block play for significant periods.

Some were very keen to share their creations with an adult and some preferred to quietly create.

Children engaged with both the large and small blocks and added gathered objects from around the classroom to help tell their story.

Children allowed others into their play, which promoted a sense of wellbeing and friendship.

Children were struggling when tidying away the blocks, which was addressed by adding labels. ‘Putting the blocks away in the correct space seemed to give children a notion of completion and pattern,’ says Michaela.

Some play needed to be continued after break or lunch. A large area enabled children to leave their structures and return to them.

Children had natural conversations and developed their communication skills while learning from each other.

what they gained

‘We observed immediate and noticeable changes in both the depth and breadth of children’s communication and language skills while they played with the blocks,’ says Jennifer.

They believe that, because children were engaged in their block play for significant periods of time, much higher levels of discussion between children took place. ‘It was really noticeable how children were developing their confidence in describing what they were doing in the area,’ she says. ‘We also noticed that a few children, who were wary of speaking to their peers, were spending time in the block area quietly observing and then having quiet reciprocal conversations. That was something beneficial of the space.’

They also noticed that children were inspired to try new things such as using new vocabulary, mark-making as they drew plans and made lists and, latterly, attempting to spell words phonetically. Children used their floor books to document their own learning through photographs and writing.

Jennifer adds that they were able to see the impact of the block play across other areas. ‘For example, boats being drawn, painted, and created with loose parts outside,’ she says. ‘This provided evidence for the holistic nature of learning and language development.’

book corner

Use Your Imagination by Nicola O’Byrne

Rabbit is bored and doesn’t know what to do until Wolf suggests writing a story…

When I Build With Blocks by Niki Alling

This book transports an everyday classroom into various imaginative scenes – from outer space to the ocean.

Block City by Robert Louis Stevenson and Daniel Kirk

In this retro-style book, the illustrator joins his images of brightly coloured blocks with Stevenson’s classic poem to construct a celebration of fun and imagination.

Rex Wrecks It! by Ben Clanton

Gizmo, Sprinkles and Wild are fed up. Every time they build something with their blocks, Rex wrecks it! Is there any way to make playtime fun for everyone?

The Perfect Fit by Naomi Jones and James Jones

No matter how hard she tries, Triangle doesn’t roll like the circles, or stack like the squares, so she sets off to find friends that look exactly like her…

Not a Box by Antoinette Portis

A beautifully designed book, celebrating the power of the imagination to transform even ordinary objects into something magical.

Stanley’s Stick by John Hegley and Neal Layton

With a stick in hand, Stanley’s imagination takes over and the magic begins – he flies to the moon, goes fishing, plays a whistle and rides a dinosaur.