Blocks As a Tool for Learning:
Historical and
Contemporary Perspectives
Karen Hewitt
6
Ivory Soap advertisement, early 20th century
CHILDREN IS CLEARLY REFLECTED IN THE
HISTORYOFBLOCKSANDCONSTRUCTION
TOYS !S EDUCATORS WE SHOULD APPRECIATETHECENTRALHISTORICALAND
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#OURTESYOFTHEAUTHOR
Karen Hewitt, M.S. Ed., is a toy designer
and the founder and president of Learning Materials Workshop in Burlington,
Vermont. Karen is the curator of two extensive museum exhibitions on the history of
educational toys.
This article is based on Karen Hewitt’s essay in the catalog published by the Katonah
Museum of Art, Katonah, New York, for the
1997 exhibition, Toying with Architecture:
The Building Toy in the Arena of Play.
#OURTESYOFTHEAUTHOR
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HILDREN HAVE ALWAYS BUILT
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TOPILESTICKYBURDOCKTOCONNECT
GREEN TWIGS TO TIE AND WEAVE !ND
CHILDREN ARE QUICK TO PICK UP DISCARDEDCONSTRUCTIONANDCOMMERICALMATERIALSSUCHASWOODPIECES
ORBOXES0URCHASEDBUILDINGBLOCKS
ANDCONSTRUCTIONSETSAFFORDDAYSOF
OPENENDEDPLAYANDLEARNING
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Trade card, late 19th century
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Crandall Co., Montrose, Penn., ca. 1870s
as pure form
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BLOCKSINADAPTINGTHElNGER
SYSTEMSENTICINGTHEMTOLEARN N.Y., ca. 1915
Young Childrens*ANUARY
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York, 1899
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VARIETYOFFORMSTHUSINVENTING
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Blocks as transmitters
of culture: Rebuilding
architectural history
Co., Chicago, 1919
Young Childrens*ANUARY
#OURTESYOF2OBERT(ULL&LEMING
-USEUM"URLINGTON6T
PUMPINGOUTTHEIRCHARMINGNESTED
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Springfield, Mass., 1869
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EXAMPLE,%'/-IND3TORMSPROGRAMMABLEBRICKS
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NAEYC posters
Order several of these
meaningful 16" x 22" posters for your classroom,
parent area, or children’s
rooms—or as gifts.
$5 each
+ shipping.
#401
To order, call the
NAEYC Resource
Sales Department
at 800-424-2460
or 202-232-8777,
ext. 2001.
OFEXTERNALARTIFACTˆBEITAROBOTA
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References
$EWEY*The school and society.2EPRINTEDINDewey on education,ED-3$WORKIN
.EW9ORK4EACHERS#OLLEGE0RESS
/UTOFPRINT
%DUCATIONAL3UPPLY!SSOCIATIONEducational Supply Association Limited.(ARLOW
%SSEX5+!UTHOR
&ROEBEL&;=The education of man.
4RANS7.(AILMANN.EW9ORK!PPLETON
*OHNSON(;=Children in the nursery.
.EW9ORK"ANK3TREET#OLLEGEOF%DUCATION
+AFAI9-2ESNICKEDSConstructionism in practice: Designing, thinking, and learning in a digital world.-AHWAH.*%RLBAUM
,OCKE*Some thoughts concerning education.4EXTAVAILABLEONLINEATWWWSOCSCI
KUNNLPEDWHPHISTEDUCLOCKEINDEXHTML
3EESECTIONS
-ONTESSORI - ;= Spontaneous
activity in education.4RANS &3IMMONDS
#AMBRIDGE-!2OBERT"ENTLEY
0RATT#;=I learn from children..EW
9ORK(ARPER2OW0ERENNIAL
2ESNICK--%ISENBERG2"ERG$-IKHAK
$7ILLOW-ANUSCRIPT,EARNINGWITH
DIGITALMANIPULATIVES.EWFRAMEWORKSTO
HELP ELEMENTARYSCHOOL STUDENTS EXPLORE
hADVANCEDv MATHEMATICAL AND SCIENTIFIC
CONCEPTS!VAILABLEONLINEATWWWMEDIA
MITEDUPAPERSMRESDIGITALMANIP
7EBER%0LAYMATERIALSINTHECURRICULUMOFEARLYCHILDHOOD)NEducational toys in
America: 1800 to the present,EDS+(EWITT
, 2OOMET "URLINGTON 64 2OBERT (ULL
&LEMING-USEUM
For further reading
%XHIBITION CATALOGS FROM THE #ANADIAN
#ENTREFOR!RCHITECTURE-ONTREAL1UEBEC
Building in boxes: Architectural toys from
the CCA.
Potential architecture: Construction toys
from the CCA collection.
Toys that teach.
Toys in the modernist tradition.
Dream houses, toy homes.
Toy town.
"ROSTERMAN.Inventing kindergarten: Nineteenth centur y children..EW
9ORK!BRAMS
#ARTWRIGHT30LAYCANBETHEBUILDINGBLOCKSOFLEARNINGYoung Children
n
#ARTWRIGHT3,EARNINGWITHLARGE
BLOCKSYoung Childrenn
#ARTWRIGHT 3 "LOCK PLAY %XPERIENCESINCOOPERATIVELEARNINGANDLIVING
Child Care Information Exchange-AY
n
#HARNEY2-+#LAYTON#7OOD
Bringing blocks back to the classroom.
'REENlELD-!.ORTHEAST&OUNDATION
FOR#HILDREN
#LEMENTS $ 9OUNG CHILDREN AND
TECHNOLOGY)NDialogue on early child-
#422
Young Childrens*ANUARY
hood science, mathematics, and technology education.7ASHINGTON$#!MERICAN!SSOCIATIONFORTHE!DVANCEMENT
OF 3CIENCE !VAILABLE ONLINE AT WWW
PROJECTORGNEWSINFOEARLYCHILD
EXPERIENCECLEMENTSHTM
#UFFARO(+4HEDEVELOPMENTOF
BLOCKBUILDING)NBuilding block art,ED
0(3PERR0HILADELPHIA 0LEASE4OUCH
-USEUM
#UFFARO(+"LOCKBUILDING/PPORTUNITIESFORLEARNING Child Care Information Exchange-AYn
#UFFARO(+Experimenting with the
world: John Dewey and the early childhood classroom. .EW 9ORK 4EACHERS
#OLLEGE0RESS
&ORMAN'%!SEARCHFORTHEORIGINSOFEQUIVALENCECONCEPTSTHROUGH
MICROANALYSIS OF BLOCKPLAY )N Action
and thought: From sensorimotor schemes
to symbolic operations,ED'%&ORMAN
.EW9ORK!CADEMIC
'UANELLA&"LOCKBUILDINGACTIVITIES
OFYOUNGCHILDRENArchives of Psychology
n
'URA0EDExploring learning: Young
children and block play..EW9ORK0AUL
#HAPMAN
(EWITT+4HEBUILDINGTOYTHETOY
BUILDING3YMBOLSTRUCTUREANDSTYLE
)NToying with architecture: The building
toy in the arena of play. +ATONAH.9
+ATONAH-USEUMOF!RT
(IRSCH%3EDThe block book.D
ED7ASHINGTON$#.!%9#
0APERT3;=MindStorms: Children, computers, and powerful ideas.D
ED.EW9ORK"ASIC
2EIFEL3"LOCKCONSTRUCTION#HIL
DRENS DEVELOPMENTAL LANDMARKS IN
REPRESENTATIONOFSPACEYoung Children
n
2EIFEL30-'REENlELD3TRUCTURALDEVELOPMENTINSYMBOLICMEDIUM
4HEREPRESENTATIONALUSEOFBLOCKCONSTRUCTION)NAction and thought: From sensorimotor schemes to symbolic operations,
ED'%&ORMAN.EW9ORK!CADEMIC
2EIFEL3*9EATMAN!CTIONTALK
ANDTHOUGHTINTHEBLOCKCORNER$EVELOPMENTALTRENDS)NPlay and the social
context of development in early care and
education,EDS"3CALES-!LMY!.ICOLOPOULOU3%RVIN4RIPP.EW9ORK
4EACHERS#OLLEGE0RESS
3TRITZEL+"LOCKPLAYISFOR!,,CHILDRENChild Care Information Exchange
-AYn
#OPYRIGHT©BYTHE.ATIONAL!SSOCIATION
FORTHE%DUCATIONOF9OUNG#HILDREN3EE0ERMISSIONSAND2EPRINTSONLINEATWWWNAEYC
ORGRESOURCESJOURNAL
Young Childrens*ANUARY