Playing with bricks

Three year old Seb is building a police/fire station with his mum. He talks through his thinking as they collaborate on the structure.

Good for looking at

• COEL - Creating and thinking critically
• Object play
• Language
• Communication
• Maths

Three year old Seb is building a police/fire station with his mum. He talks as they collaborate on the structure.

Notice

• How do we know what Seb is interested in?  Be specific, look out for body language, actions, gestures.
• How is Seb learning? Which areas of development, engagement and characteristics of learning can you observe?
• In what ways does Mum support Seb’s learning?
• What is valuable about the materials provided?

Reflect

What did you recognise about:

• The way Seb is learning – what evidence did you see of him creating and thinking critically?
• The areas of learning and development that were covered?
• The adult’s roles – how did she support Seb?
• The importance of the materials?

Respond

What would you do to:

• Encourage Seb to expand his interests and increase his problem solving skills? Could you give him more time and more objects and see what he does?
• Encourage him to share his skills with other children? Also could others show him more ideas for what to do with the bricks?

What next:

• Could you suggest a way of doing something similar with the children in your own setting?

Downloads

Nursery World Article about Seb's block play

Download