Towers

Observation:

R(4) brought a basket of blocks over to the carpet area. He began to build a small structure with the blocks. After a few minutes, E(4) and Olwyn(2) came over to join him. They both sat on the floor nearby and grabbed some blocks from the basket. They started to build their own structures. 

R announced, “I’m making a tower!” The children continued building without talking to each other. O looked up at the other structures briefly before going back to work on her own. Then O said, “I’m making a tower too!” A couple of minutes later, E also said, “I’m making a tower!” 

Reflection:

E, O, and R engaged in associative play as they were sharing materials and all building together with blocks, but not working towards the same goal. They worked independently but took inspiration from each other. I noticed O specifically looking at the other creations but E and R also glanced at each other working. I wonder if they were looking to see each others’ progress, for inspiration, or for another reason. They formed a sense of belonging as they made connections through play.

I found it interesting that all three of them decided to label their creations as “a tower” yet each creation turned out to look very different! R made a short building with three blocks at the bottom, horizontal blocks in the middle, and a triangular block on top. His creation was symmetrical with curved blocks on either side. O’s creation became the tallest. She worked on stacking up to six cylindrical blocks. Then she put even more blocks on top. E had been working on stacking many rectangular blocks which rotated slightly as they got higher. Later, he made two stacks of six and seven blocks beside each other. 

Each child showed creativity and their own interpretation of building a tower! They seemed to be in different stages of block building. R worked on symmetry and possibly creating a representative structure. O worked on balance and creating a structure with great height. E worked on different ways to stack the same type of block; creating one tower and then two beside each other. 

They demonstrated flexible and fluid thinking as they created different structures with the building blocks. Their individuality and level of development showed in the end result of each one’s creation. They also tested the limits of the blocks by experimenting with balance and the placement of certain shapes.