Want to encourage block play?

I did!

We have these glorious wooden blocks that needed some love.

Sometimes, all it takes is a simple Breakfast Invitation to remind kids of an old toy that can inspire play. The supplies are simple and the creativity rolled right into independent play. – The ultimate goal!

RELATED: Open-ended toys are the best tools for children. (other than exploring the outdoors) Find our favorites open-ended toys HERE.

Block play encourages creativity.

Block play encourages math skills.

Block play encourages problem-solving.

For this Breakfast Invitations, the task was simple.

Can you build a house using the supplies you have in front of you?

For this task, my four-year-old was asked to design his blockhouse using the wooden blocks that were placed in front of him.

The blocks had different sizes and shapes and I was curious how he would put them all together to create his “next” home.

No wooden blocks? No worries! You can also use the foam blocks we shared for sensory block play!

RELATED: Want to know more? Find the ten things children learn from block play HERE.

Setting up this block play Breakfast Invitation was simple!

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To begin, I taped down a large piece of white paper onto the table. I used the white paper roll to create a border around his block play. You could also create a border using painter’s tape.

I sorted the wooden block by type and placed them on the side of the paper.
I formed one square using four blocks as an invitation to begin.
When my preschooler came down for breakfast, I simply prompted him with, Can you build a house? – and he was off!

Keep in mind, this Breakfast Invitation can be done dozens of times! Each play will have a very different outcome. That is the joy of open-ended toys. There is simply no right or wrong way to begin!

RELATED: Love block play, and need some more inspiration? Head HERE!

Supplies:

Below, I linked three of our favorite blocks to use for block play. Remember, all I did was place the blocks in an easy to get to location and prompted with one simple question. The rest was up to my preschooler!