3 Examples of How Lego-Style Blocks Are Excellent Learning Tools for Preschool

Montessori preschool education includes a wide variety of hands-on, play-based learning. Typically, Montessori activities are made of wood, but Lego-style building blocks still make the muster of excellent learning tools. The blocks excel as a Montessori-styled activity because they can be applied to many facets of early childhood development. Here are a few quick examples of what your child will gain from using them.

1. Developing Fine Motor Skills

Picking up and connecting the pegs of lego-styled building blocks requires Montessori preschool kids to use hand-eye coordination and the bones and muscles of their fingers. Not only is this type of activity engaging and fun, but it also builds crucial fine motor skills. The ability to grasp things and manipulate small objects with the hands and fingers is a developmental milestone and leads to things like holding a pencil and learning to write letters.

2. Learning to Sort and Count

Lego-style blocks are ideal for Montessori students. Sorting and counting activities are built into the blocks, which can be divided into colors, sizes, or shapes. As children gain skills in math, they can use the pegs of blocks to experiment with multiplication, division, and conceptual operations like percentages and fractions. They also teach abstract ideas, engineering skills, and more, all under the guise of an enjoyable play-based activity.

3. Use of Critical Thinking Skills

Building things with interlocking pegged blocks encourages children to plan ahead by applying critical thinking skills and performing problem-solving exercises as they play. Because of their precision and design, the blocks are great for early explorations of engineering and architecture, even allowing kids to work with engineering concepts like arches, a major development in human history.

There are other benefits as well, including helping children build self-esteem, learn to share, and even promote a more robust vocabulary. From infancy through elementary school, lego-styled blocks offer a wide range of educational and developmental lessons. Modern block sets come with the parts needed to build impressive designs, including specialized blocks that offer more versatility and performance for elaborate block creations.

Like plastic model building in days gone by, Lego-styled blocks have become an enjoyable pastime for kids and adults alike. In fact, building with Lego blocks is an excellent way for parents to connect with their kids, collaborating on designs and teaching children to learn through positive role-modeling.