Age
⚙ 1.5 years and up
Time and Place
⚙ Any time of day
⚙ Any time of year
⚙ Indoors or outdoors
Materials
⚙ Building materials (e.g., LEGO, wooden blocks, magnetic tiles)
Optional Materials
⚙ Recycled materials (e.g., small boxes, cleaned juice boxes, containers)
⚙ Images of towers
Safety
⚙ Supervise children at all times
⚙Be aware of choking hazards (i.e., small LEGO)
Instructions
If children demonstrate an interest in building structures, encourage them to make tall structures (i.e., towers), assisting children if needed. Narrate the process if appropriate (e.g., highlighting structural features of the towers).
Optional: Provide recycled materials to encourage other types of constructions. Provide images of towers to spark creativity.
Questions You May Ask
⚙ What materials can you use to build a tall tower?
⚙ How can you place your materials [on top of, beside, below, next to] each other?
⚙ Is your tower wobbly? How can you fix that?
⚙ How [tall, wide, thick] is your tower?
⚙How can you make your tower [taller, wider, thicker]?
⚙What other types of towers can you build?
Related Children's Books
⚙ Bigger! Bigger! By Leslie Patricelli
⚙ When I Build with Blocks by Niki Alling
⚙ Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty
⚙ Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty
Play-based Context
Educators noticed that preschoolers were building towers with blocks so they provided different kinds of building materials, supported children through questioning, and offered assistance when needed.
