Object inquiry skills, Problem-solving
Toddlers participate in a shared book reading about building a house and a follow-on opportunity to build with blocks individually or with a peer.
Build
Invite toddlers to share a book with you. Sit close to toddlers so all can easily see the pictures in Jack’s House. As you read the book, take time to point to and describe pictures, and encourage toddlers’ responses.
Invite toddlers to build houses with blocks as a follow-on activity. Support toddlers’ building interests and efforts. At this age, blocks laid on the floor in a square or rectangle will represent a house, barn, or variety of vehicles. Corners can be challenging for some toddlers to make. Provide only enough help for a toddler to be successful in making a corner. To support toddlers’ building interests, show pertinent illustrations in the book, if appropriate. Toddlers may opt to work with blocks individually or with a peer.
Conclude the activity by describing (or inviting toddlers to describe) how each toddler (or pair of toddlers) used blocks to build something. Give more emphasis to a toddler’s building process than to the outcome.
You may see toddlers arrange blocks in lots of different ways. Early block building efforts generally appear disorganized because toddlers have limited understanding of the properties of the blocks. For a toddler, a pile of blocks may represent something grand! With repeated experiences, young children begin to understand ways to use the blocks. Providing open-ended opportunities to build with blocks can help toddlers develop an understanding of spatial concepts.
Although this activity’s work with blocks follows a book on building houses, it is not necessary for the blocks to be arranged in any particular way. 
This does not mean your gentle guidance is not needed, however. Example: some toddlers may line up blocks end to end and then realize there is no door! Support their problem-solving by asking questions about how people/animals get into their house and where a door might be put. Offer as little help as necessary, so a toddler develops his/her own solution. A toddler may simply move one block out of the line to provide a door.
While some toddlers may not wish to participate in block building, consider extending a special invitation to a toddler(s) who normally does not play with blocks. Ask the toddler to sit with you, watch what some other toddlers are doing, and ask “What would you like to make with blocks?” Describe the toddler’s building actions without directing the effort. Your supportive attention to the toddler’s efforts is likely to support beneficial exploration of blocks.
Extra support
Enrichment
Toddlers’ work with blocks often leads to pretend play based on routines experienced at home, such as mealtime and bedtime routines. Provide meaningful props for toddlers, such as felt squares for beds or animal homes.
Object inquiry skills, Problem-solving
Toddlers work together to solve the problem of using blocks to build a boat that is big enough to fit all toddlers (3–4) in the gathering.
Building blocks
Be Prepared: A gathering of 3–4 toddlers will likely work best. If books on boat building are available (see Optional Reading), place them near the activity area.
Initiate the activity with one of the Informal Gathering Starters described in the ELM Curriculum User Guide: Birth–36 Months. Organize toddlers in a circle. Encourage toddlers to look around the circle at each person. Ask, “How could we make a boat big enough for all the friends here?” Lay four blocks on the floor in the center of the circle. Explain that we can use the blocks to build a boat. Slide the blocks together so they are side by side. Ask “Is this boat big enough for all of us?” Toddlers will relish saying “No!” Encourage toddlers to think about making a bigger boat. Listen to toddlers’ suggestions. Repeat and extend their ideas.
Invite toddlers to work together to make the boat bigger. It may work best for toddlers to decide (with your guidance) to organize into smaller groups to work on different parts of the boat. Some toddlers will likely focus on the building aspect and other toddlers may gather items to bring into the boat. If toddlers run out of blocks, offer carpet squares to enlarge the boat, if necessary. Describe toddlers’ actions and ask open-ended questions to support their thinking.
Allow time for toddlers to play in their boat or add things to their boat.
If books are available, let toddlers know there are pictures of boats in the books. Open Mister Gumpy’s Outing and point out the shape of the boat. Explain “There are animals and people in this boat.” Some toddlers may enjoy looking at the books about boats.
At the conclusion of the activity, engage toddlers in a discussion of what they did and in putting away the blocks (unless it is to be left available; see Enrichment tip). Remind toddlers that we wanted to build a boat that would fit everyone. Does our boat fit everyone?
You may see some toddlers highly motivated to make the boat, and some toddlers who seem unclear about what action to take. Give one block to a toddler who is unsure how to participate and show him/her a place the block can go. Some toddlers may need reminders that the boat building is something we are doing together. Help a toddler contribute to a specific part of the larger effort, rather than fully do his/her own building project.
In the opening segment, toddlers may be eager to start building with blocks and not engage in much discussion of how to enlarge the boat. Gently encourage toddlers to talk about ways to make the boat larger. Once some ideas are presented, encourage toddlers to move forward with the building and become an observer who provides support for problem-solving (such as suggesting carpet squares if there are not enough blocks).
Extra support
Enrichment
Object inquiry skills
Toddlers participate in a shared book reading about a gorilla at a zoo and a follow-on opportunity to play with toy zoo animals and blocks, including building houses for the animals.
Be Prepared: The block collection should include some large blocks for building a zoo. Arrange zoo animal figures and several books about zoo animals on a low table or shelf.
[Use the animal puppet to invite several toddlers to gather in the block area for a book and block play. Sit on the floor facing toddlers.]
[Display the book cover. Point to the gorilla and zookeeper when you describe each.]
Our book is about a gorilla at the zoo.
Look! The gorilla is holding the zookeeper’s keys. The gorilla is holding his finger to his mouth like this.
[Hold your finger to your mouth as you say “Shhhhhh.” Speak quietly as you ask the following:]
Do you think the zookeeper sees the gorilla holding the keys?
[Repeat and expand toddlers’ responses.]
The gorilla is trying to be very quiet with the keys! The gorilla does not want to make a noise with the keys. The zookeeper is not looking at the gorilla.
The zoo is dark. It is bedtime. Let’s open our book and find out what happens.
[On each page, point to animals and say (or invite toddlers to say) animal names. Example: “The gorilla is using the keys to open an animal house. Who lives in this house at the zoo?” Respond to toddlers’ reactions.
Read the text and describe pictures. Use your own words to elaborate on book text that may seem unclear to toddlers.
Describe toddlers’ participation in the book sharing. Example: “You used your eyes to look at the picture. You can see what animal house the gorilla is opening.”
Encourage toddlers to point to and talk about the pictures. Repeat and expand upon their comments.
Enjoy laughing with toddlers when the animals enter the zookeeper’s house and fall asleep. Use your voice to express surprise when the zookeeper’s wife awakens to see the animals.]
[At the conclusion of the book sharing, invite toddlers to play with blocks and animal figures. Explain that the blocks and toy animals can be used to build houses for the animals or do something that happened in the book. Or the blocks and toy animals can be used in any way a toddler wants.
Encourage toddlers to take turns getting the blocks.
Describe different ways toddlers are using blocks, such as stacking blocks, or lining up the blocks end to end.
Describe and encourage interactive play. Example: “Shawna and Lucas, I see you are working together to make lots of animal houses, like a zoo.”
Emphasize words that describe size, such as small, big, and bigger, as toddlers make structures. Example: “Shawna, the elephant is bigger than the lion. You and Lucas used lots of blocks to make the elephant house bigger.”
Help toddlers anticipate next steps in their building. Example: “Lucas, the lion is big. What blocks do you need for your lion house?”
Encourage toddlers to use materials from other areas of the room if they wish.
Describe similarities between the book story and toddlers’ work with the blocks and animal figures. Example: “Anna, you are playing with a gorilla that looks like the gorilla who got the keys in our book.”]
Today we read a book about a gorilla and played with blocks and toy zoo animals.
[Describe toddlers’ responses to the book and uses of the play materials. Example: “We laughed when the gorilla opened the animal houses at the zoo and the animals followed the zookeeper to his home. You used blocks and animals to make a zoo. Some friends used blocks for people houses.”]
The shared book about a zoo will lead many, but probably not all, toddlers to use the blocks and animal figures in ways related to the book. Toddlers will come to block play with different ideas. Some toddlers may create enclosed structures as part of their own zoo. Other toddlers may spend time discovering how to line blocks end to end. Accept and positively recognize all efforts.
The caregiver questions and comments suggested in the activity plan are aimed at promoting toddlers’ emerging cognitive abilities, especially spatial relations and problem-solving skills. Gently offer your verbal contributions in ways that may prompt thinking but do not direct a toddler’s activity. Example: Asking “How can you make your house bigger?” can be very helpful to a toddler, but telling the toddler how to make a house bigger is generally not helpful. Your intentionality in interacting with toddlers (in contrast to a “stand back and watch” posture) can help strengthen their thinking skills. Watch a toddler carefully to determine when your suggestion might be well received.
Talking about toddlers’ play with blocks and animal figures is valuable. Some toddlers may describe their block structure in detail. Examples: “It is a place for lions.” “There is a tree.” “One block is a door.” Other toddlers may simply describe their structure with one word. Describe problem-solving you observe during play. Example: “The top of the house falls down when you open the door.” Describe instances of toddlers playing side by side or toddlers beginning to share ideas and materials.
Extra support
Enrichment
Materials Needed: cardboard blocks, zoo animals, figures, several sets of play keys, Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
In the block center, provide cardboard blocks, zoo animals, figures, and several sets of play keys. Place the book Good Night, Gorilla near the blocks. As toddlers play, point out the animals, people, and the zookeeper’s keys in the book. Encourage toddlers to imitate characters in the book as they play. Example: “What does the gorilla in the book do with the zookeeper’s keys? What could our zookeeper do with the keys?”
Another interest area idea is to set up sensory play with boats and water, and another area where toddlers can create shapes with small fit-together blocks.
Materials Needed: sidewalk chalk, toy animals, and different-sized cardboard boxes
In an outdoor setting, provide children with sidewalk chalk, toy animals, and different-sized cardboard boxes. Preschool-age children may wish to draw the outline of a zoo. Ask toddlers about their play ideas. Repeat and extend toddlers’ responses. If a toddler does not verbalize, observe the play and offer comments. Example: “I see you in the box driving. Your sound is like a fire truck. Maybe you are thinking about driving a big red fire truck.” Encourage toddlers to use the cardboard boxes as animal houses and place them in the zoo for imaginary play with the animals. Use the words “small,” “big,” and “biggest,” when describing the box sizes. Example: “The giraffe is very big. Will you need a small box or a big box for the giraffe?” Infants who can sit independently may enjoy holding toy animals as the older children play in their pretend zoo.
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