At one point in our childhood, we have used building blocks, whether it was to build a massive tower or a minuscule fort. Little did we know that we were building the foundation of our intellectual devlopment. This small toy was created by Caroline Pratt in 1913. But did these simple chunks of wood affect our development and learning? This article written by G.F. | SEATTLE discusses the effect that unit blocks has on children’s later development. The structure of the article goes in chronological order, from the making of blocks to the uses of the toys today. Such a simple tool has potentially set the basis of geometric figures, hand-eye co-ordination, as well as social skills. The collapse and re stacking of blocks, introduces children to the idea of gravity and balance. It seemed very queer to me that such a basic toy could have such educational purposes. After several years of analyzation, specialist have concluded that “children who play with blocks significantly outperform those who do not, not just in infancy but over their entire academic careers”. Therefore, it building block should be essential in an kind of children’s environment. Today, it is suggested that children use the color-coded blocks “Cuisenaire rods”.
As a 90’s child, I remember playing with blocks for hours on end, but today it is very different. With our technological advancements, we see that young kids nowadays are less active due to handheld devices. Instead of playing with blocks, we now see seven year olds with smart phones. Though these blocks were useful to the children of the 1900’s, today with the progress of technology, the use of toys such as unit blocks will slowly diminish.
I found your article really interesting (: I didn't know that little chunks of wood could contribute to child's intelligence development in abundant ways. However, as you mentioned in the last paragraph, nowadays children are being accustomed to the environment where various kinds of electronic devices are present. Your commentary was great but it would have been better if you included in what ways could children be attached to wooden blocks instead of electronic devices. Other than that, good analysis overall ! also, include more of your opinion rather than summarizing (:
ReplyDeleteI found the article you wrote about as fascinating. I was also unaware of the fact that children who play with blocks are more successful academically than children who do not play with blocks. In your commentary, I noticed how you mentioned a lot of the same concepts that are in the article you chose. Even though you did mention your reaction of the article in the ninth sentence, first paragraph, you should focus more on analysis. For example, you can mention someone you know that used to play with blocks as a child and say whether it has helped them academically or not.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I found your last paragraph as off topic. You went from writing about blocks to technological devices. Your concluding sentence made it seem as if the article was about unit blocks slowly diminishing.