Director’s Corner:
LVPPP Director’s Blog

An Ode to Childhood

Today is Tuesday. I walk into my classroom and put my snack bag into my cubby. I kiss mama goodbye, and head over to the block area. This is my favorite place to play at school. I grab the largest wooden block on the shelf, and place it carefully down onto the floor. I add another large wooden block, right next to that first one. “This is going to make the perfect foundation for my house!” I think to myself. I then grab a few medium sized blocks and stack them on top of the large blocks on the floor. My creation is growing. 

Jacob walks over and asks if he can build with me. I’m not very sure about this, so I continue building, thinking about the house I am working so hard on. Jacob grabs a few small blocks, and lays them in front of me. I look at Jacob, and he looks at me. He tells me, “Maybe these can be the windows!” I look down at my blocks, and then back up at Jacob. I like that idea! I nod my head and grab one small block to add to my creation. Jacob grabs a few more blocks from the shelf. I am excited that Jacob is helping me. He seems excited too. We continue grabbing blocks, and stacking them onto each other. One by one, the blocks are getting higher and higher. 

Our house is growing, and now Luna and Jack are interested in what we are building. They walk over to us. Jack is holding a baby doll, and Luna has a sticker in the shape of a star. “This can be the baby for the house!” exclaims Jack. I look at Jacob, and then back at our house. “Yeah!” shouts Jacob. Jack lays the baby onto the floor, next to our block creation. Luna sits down next to us. “I have a star. This can go onto the roof!” she says. Luna reaches over to grab a medium sized block to stack onto the very top of our building. She lays the block down, and sticks her star sticker right in the middle. Now our house looks like a magic palace!

We take turns grabbing blocks, and stacking them onto each other. As more blocks join our house, I start to count, “1, 2, 3, 4, 5…” How many blocks will we use for our magical house? How tall is it going to be? Jacob joins me in counting the blocks, “6, 7, 8, 9, 10!” 

Jacob grabs one last small block, and adds it to the front of the house. “This is the doorbell!” he exclaims. I grab one last medium sized block, and add it to the very top. “It’s done! Look at our house!” I shout. “It’s so big!” says Luna. “What should we name it?” asks Jack. We sit and ponder for a moment…  “The Magical Castle!” shouts Jack. We all look at each other. I feel my face light up, as I smile from ear to ear. “Yes! The Magical Castle!” I exclaim. “And it has a magical star on top!” says Luna. 

Ms. Autumn makes her way over to the block area. “Wow! Look at all of these blocks!” she says. We all jump up and down with excitement. “It’s called ‘The Magical Castle!’” we all say, in unison. Ms. Autumn takes a step back, looking at our creation from top to bottom. “I see! You all worked very hard on this Magical Castle. Are you so very proud of this hard work you have all done, together?” We all stop jumping, for just a minute, looking at our magical creation. “And it has a baby inside!” yells Jack. 

I invite every reader to now look at this story from a different lens. What if halfway through this scenario, the children hear a sound —“DING, DING, DING.” Everyone looks up to see what is going on. Ms. Autumn says, “My friends, the bell has rung. It is time to clean up and join me at the table for center time.” The children proceed to place the blocks back onto the shelf, and join Ms. Autumn at the table. 

The table is set up neatly. There is a space for every child, with plenty of materials laid out in front of them. “We’re going to learn about numbers today!” says Ms. Autumn. There are sheets of paper with numbers 1-10  written on them. Each child has a set of colored pencils in front of them. “You will take your pencil, and trace the lines of each number,” instructs Ms. Autumn. “Once you have finished tracing, you can color in the pictures that match each number. We are learning how to count today!” 

The children grab their pencils, and put the tips to the paper. They move their pencils over the lines of each number. The room is quiet and still. Jacob, Jack, and Luna look over to the block area, and quietly turn their gaze back to their worksheets.

This article was written with the intent of bringing to light the importance of play in early childhood. Play is essential for learning. Unstructured play helps to strengthen and increase neural connections in the brain. This is not a theory, but rather a fact based on scientific research. While structured learning has a time and place in the later years, preschool should be a time of wonder curiosity, and unstructured play.

What are children learning through block play?

Problem solving skills
Language development
Teamwork
Science + gravity
Number sense
Creativity

More Resources on the Importance of Play

“A top researcher says it’s time to rethink our entire approach to preschool” by Anya Kamenetz, NPR, February 2022

“The case of brain science and guided play: A developing story” by Brenna Hassinger-Das, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, & Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, NAEYC, May 2017

“Tuning out to tune in: How time outside can improve readiness to learn inside” by Andrea Laser, NAEYC