Benefits of playing Building and Construction Toys

Constructive play is an organized form of play that is, in many ways, goal oriented and thoughtful. Children who are engaged in constructive play use materials to create something, and this increases in complexity as they get older.
 

With its rich capacity to teach children to problem solve, connect, understand and be inquisitive in their play, Building and Construction toys is an important part of an early learning environment. When children are actively involved this way, they remember the information they have gathered better than when they are simply given the information. Benefits of playing with Building/Construction toys:

• While playing with building toys, kids have to learn how to move and manipulate various shaped objects. This helps build motor strength as well as visual skills and motor planning.
• Building and Construction toys help kids enhance their visual-spatial skills which is crucial for reading readiness. As kids build, they have to understand spatial organization in order to create a structure that does not topple over.
• Every time a child builds and creates a structure or even an entire world, kids have to use reasoning and critical thinking skills. They also have to problem solve when something does not work the way they hoped it would.
• Children need to work slowly and carefully to be successful at creating their designs. This helps build their ability to focus and maintain attention for longer periods of time. It also teaches the important skill of patience.
• Building toys allow children to create their own fantasy worlds and stories. Using the imagination boosts cognitive, academic, language and social growth. As they create structures, they also create stories which leads to greater verbal skills including their ability to tell stories.
• Often times kids play with their peers when building so it helps foster teamwork and cooperation. Kids learn to work together and take each other’s advice. Turn taking is also a skill gained when building together.
• Introductory math concepts are introduced such as counting, adding, subtracting and basic geometry as kids play with building toys. Not only can children build shapes and numbers with the toys, but they can also count out the pieces and use mathematical calculations to build the perfect design.