Build It Up

Written by Jackie Lorraine Ty

Nursery’s Unit on Play aimed to spark the young learners’ imagination, creativity and communication skills.  Since many of them do not have a good grip on writing and coloring tools yet, they were given the opportunity to express their ideas through other means like manipulatives.

 The young learners built blocks and snap cubes which required from them the precision of their delicate small muscles (fine motor skill). When tasked with incorporating other toys into their block play, they have learned to be sensitive and observant to the position of their toys in relation to the blocks and to themselves (spatial awareness).  A camera, bridge, dog house and dinosaur were some of the learners’ noteworthy creations, which sprang up from their constructive planning and execution (organization).  Hence, children are not “just playing” when they play, they are in fact learning how to manage themselves and their work.

 To conclude the unit, the learners in Nursery were challenged to create with loose parts.  And as one well-loved children’s song says, “Build it up and knock it down and build it up again!” (Michael Leeman, Bev Bos & Tom Hunter).