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Unit Blocks Turn 100!
March 13, 2013
Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another.
-John Dewey
-John Dewey
"In 1913, Caroline Pratt was a young teacher working in Manhattan. Having grown up on a farm, she understood about hands-on learning. But she realized that city children were deprived of much of the practical know-how that seemed natural to country kids. This concern, coupled with inspiration from the Froebel course she’d just completed, led Pratt to design the Unit Block. Its mathematical proportions and open-ended nature blend perfectly with Froebel’s philosophy.
"Because there is no 'correct' use of blocks, children have no fear of failure. Imagination guides their play, and each experiment encourages the next. While observing block play, adults can almost hear a child’s thoughts! Block play allows children to represent ideas in concrete ways — preparing their minds for more abstract forms of symbolism, such as written language. Block play supports knowledge and understanding of the world as children create miniature environments and experiment with concepts like design, symmetry, and balance. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright attributed his success to an early love of block play."
The Beginnings Workshop Book Play contains insightful articles on The Spirit of Play, The Value of Play, Block Play, Make-Believe Play, and Play & Culture. This book can be ordered individually or as part of the discounted set of 8 Beginnings Workshop Books.View and Purchase
(Sale Ends 03/13/2013 11:59 pm PST)
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Comments (1)
Displaying 1 CommentOMEP-USA
Washington, DC, United States
I can't believe that no one else has written to celebrate 100 years of unit blocks! It is somewhat sad, but I want to salute Caroline Pratt and her rural roots and for thinking through so carefully the dimensions of unit blocks. It always amazes me when I visit a preschool and they few or even no unit blocks. Doesn't anyone teach them the value of constructing out of nothing and of having such flexible materials that age over time to work for every generation? Let's meet the challenge of our collective future - it's in the block corner!
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