#stagesofblockplay | Cart Mill Family Centre

Welcome to our STEAM room!

This week we have been being super creative in the block area, creating our own designs and then having a go at building them with the blocks. Block play nurtures problem-solving and critical thinking.

Children learn through trial and error—figuring out how to make structures stable, how to recreate designs, or how to adapt when something collapses. This process builds resilience and persistence. Socially, when children build together, they practice communication, collaboration, and negotiation, sharing ideas and working towards common goals.

Also, in the science area we have been exploring the magnets. Magnet play supports language development as children describe what they notice, ask questions, and explain their discoveries. Fine motor skills are strengthened as they manipulate objects, while problem-solving skills grow as they figure out how to move items, build with magnetic pieces, or complete challenges.

Article 31 – I have the right to play

In the block area, the children have been exploring which stage of block play they are at. Through observation it was noticed that the children were doing a lot of stacking and enclosure play in the block area.

Stacking allows children to develop their fine motor skills and core strength as they stack the blocks higher. Enclosure play in the block area is when the children use blocks to create closed off spaces, demonstrating a concept of inside and outside.

The children decided that they wanted to build houses with the blocks so we added in some wooden people characters which sparked discussions about who lived in our houses.

”That’s my mummy, me, my big brother and my baby brother”

The children used different shapes and sizes of blocks and props to create their own houses, and used the wooden figures to role play real life situations.

”I’m building the walls for the house”

”My baby one is going to bed, this is the mummy one”

The children will be working on expanding their learning in the block area over the next few weeks creating different enclosures and some children have suggested adding in some farm animals, I wonder what they will create next?

Article 28: I have the right to an education