St. Augustine wrote that humility is the building block for greatness. Ironically, the humble building block is also more than a child’s toy—it serves as a foundation for lifelong learning.
Building blocks are powerful tools for cognitive development. From building spatial awareness to developing literacy, play with blocks fosters essential skills through hands-on exploration and experimentation.
Benefit #1: Spatial Reasoning
Building blocks help children understand three-dimensional space, visualize relationships between objects, and develop mental rotation skills—the ability to imagine objects from different angles in their minds. This skillset lays the groundwork for future success in geometry, physics, and engineering.
Benefit #2: Problem-Solving
Building with blocks requires planning, trial and error, and the virtue of patience to overcome challenges. Children learn to analyze, adapt, and persevere, exercising problem-solving muscles that will transfer to both the classroom and the real world.
Benefit #3: Mathematics
Sorting, counting, and patterning naturally emerge through block play. Children grasp concepts like size, symmetry, and fractions, laying the groundwork for math education.
Benefit #4: Fine Motor Skills
Manipulating small blocks strengthens hand-eye coordination and dexterity, which are essential for writing, drawing, and other fine motor tasks.
Benefit #5: Creativity and Imagination
Blocks offer endless possibilities for building anything from towers to fantastical creatures. This open-ended play fuels creativity, imagination, and self-expression—essential skills to nurture from an early age.
Building Block Types
Wooden Blocks: Classic and versatile, wooden blocks may lack features like connectors encouraging greater use of imagination. Some sets feature letters, making them tools for spelling and word-building activities. Additionally, their weight can vary depending on the type of wood used—with heavier blocks often providing a more satisfying tactile experience.
Plastic Blocks: Often brightly colored and featuring various shapes and connectors, plastic blocks encourage diverse structures and imaginative play. Some may contain harmful chemicals including endocrine disruptors, so be cautious here even with popular brands.
Cardboard Blocks: Lightweight yet sturdy, cardboard blocks are suitable for building large structures. They often feature colorful designs and are recyclable, providing an environmentally conscious option for block play.
Magnetic Tiles: Unique snap-together mechanisms allow for complex geometric structures and foster spatial reasoning. Magnetic tiles are often more expensive than other options.
Foam Blocks: While lightweight foam blocks can be popular, their tendency to topple easily can disrupt the building process and potentially frustrate children. Also, concerns exist about chemical exposure (e.g. phthalates) in foam products. We do not recommend foam blocks for these reasons.
Our Building Block Recommendations
1. Melissa & Doug Standard Solid-Wood Building Blocks: 60 natural finished, smooth-sanded hardwood blocks to inspire hands-on, imaginative play. Available here on Amazon.com
2. KEVA Contraptions Plank Set: 75 wooden planks and 40 puzzle cards to explore balance, momentum, and chain reactions through playful tinkering. Available here on Amazon.com
3. Classic ABC Blocks: Timeless wooden blocks featuring colorful letters, numbers, and pictures, perfect for early literacy, spelling, and stacking fun. Available here on Amazon.com
4. Melissa & Doug Jumbo Cardboard Blocks: Sturdy, oversized blocks that are loads of fun and offer endless building possibilities for little architects and engineers. Available here on Amazon.com
5. Magna-Tiles Classic Construction Set: Transparent magnetic tiles that promote spatial reasoning and complex structures while fostering color recognition and light exploration. Available here on Amazon.com
6. LEGO DUPLO: Chunky, colorful bricks minimizing choking hazards, perfect for little hands to grasp and build with, fostering early motor skills and creativity. Available here on Amazon.com
7. LEGO Classic: A versatile collection of colorful bricks and creative pieces, perfect for open-ended building, problem-solving, and inspiring imaginative play for builders of all ages. Available here on Amazon.com
“Think first about the foundations of humility. The higher your structure is to be, the deeper must be its foundation.” – St. Augustine
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