Early childhood people talk a lot about using blocks in the classroom. Almost all-educational conferences include seminars to help teachers setup and use great block centers. And judging by the teacher response, there is great enthusiasm for learning about how to setup a great block area in the classroom.

Actually we should begin by not thinking of them as block centers. Somehow limiting it to a name that represents pieces of wooden shapes just doesn’t tell the tale. We might want to think of them as elementary centers for the study of geometry and physics. Sounds silly? Maybe not.

Most classrooms will be equipped with the mathematically correct blocks for building. They’re usually purchased from the standard school supply catalog. They’re designed to help children discover the mathematical relationships to each other. Print friendly block centers will have labels and pictures so children can easily sort blocks and return them to their appropriate storage space after play is done.

But what really brings a block center to life is an ample supply of accessories. People, street signs, boats, trains, and airplanes make creative building exciting. Adding levers and pulleys for the children to use brings about a burst of building on another level. Suddenly internal building construction is possible as the children create elevators and use pulleys to construct their buildings. Adding water, yes water, to the block center helps children solve problems creating bridges. This is getting to be fun now. Have any batteries they can use to rig up a lighting system in their buildings?

One of the major educational suppliers now offers accessory blocks in the shapes of familiar skylines from around the world. There’s just no limit to the building potential here as well as learning about other people in distant lands.

While few schools have the space, having a dedicated block room is something to fight for. There the building can go on day after day with children having the time to develop and add to their projects. Elevators, plumbing systems and lighting systems will definitely begin to appear as well as handwritten sign on their stores.

After children have invested so much time developing their building project it’s really advantageous to record it through photography. The class may decide to keep a photo journal of all the projects they build during the year. It’s also fun to videotape the building’s progress and review it later with the class.

Working in the block corner requires planning, patience, sharing and imagination. The child learns to develop a thought. Then, usually with the cooperation of classmates, learns to develop his plan to bring that thought to reality. Along the way, as in grownup life, there will be times when compromises and adjustments must be made. Another learning moment.

The child has the opportunity to move: from the abstract to the concrete. Then, the child has the opportunity to move from the concrete (when something didn’t work they way he expected it to and an adjustment is necessary) to the abstract…back to the drawing board.

Sometimes teachers express how much effort it takes to keep all the blocks looking neat in the classroom, or cites a child who inappropriately throws blocks across the room. All these are legitimate classroom managerial concerns.

Nevertheless, just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, the teacher doesn’t have to develop the block corner in a day. Blocks and their accessories may be introduced as the children have time to learn how to work with them. Block corners can and should evolve.

Allowing children the time and space to physically manipulate their world lays a strong foundation for all necessary academic and social skills. Learning how the physical world works and explaining it to ourselves and others can come from a rich block corner experience.