Building a Creative Child
Philosophers have long wondered about that primitive caveman who came up with the idea of the wheel. Well, what about the first cave-child to sit stones on to top of each other? No doubt, he was just playing; trying to see whether the top stones of his primitive construction set would stay in place or fall off.
Then he might have tried bigger rocks. He probably ran around it a few times, knocked it over once or twice, then he realized he could hide from his friends behind this stone assembly. He had built a protective wall. One wall would lead to four. Eventually, inevitably, he would come up with the concept of a roof.
Construction toys, and the way they allow young minds to develop and play with possibilities, have, almost literally, helped build the modern world as we know it today!
It is a well documented scientific fact that children learn faster in their early years than they ever will again. It’s a time in their development when they don’t need static experiences; they need possibilities and open ended activities that will allow them to grow and develop to their full potential.
Give any modern day child a pile of blocks and, before long, he or she will be piling them up and in doing so, will be learning all the time. Surface friction, centers of gravity, and potential energy are just some of the scientific principles they will, unconsciously, be experimenting with.
Even the simple act of reaching for a block teaches the child how far they can reach before they fall over, the consequences of one’s actions.
More advanced construction toys help the child to refine their motor skills and handling abilities, after all, tiny connectors require delicacy and care. They also need concentration if your assembly isn’t to fall to pieces when you pick it up. That very disaster on its own, would teach the child about consequences. If you don’t do the job properly – this is what happens!
Most modern electronic games encourage children to sit still, doing nothing for their physical or spatial development. Their imagination is allowed to work only within the pre-defined parameters of the game. They learn to act on the spur of the moment, giving their actions the very least thought possible. After all, the only consequence of getting this game wrong is that you might lose an electronic life.
But if your child is putting together some major construction, such as a castle, a ship, a space station, they will have to carefully consider every single action and how it relates to the whole assembly. They will have to visualize and plan ahead.
The finished creation will be a thing of wonder to them, because they will know how much went into it! They will have learned you have to work for the good things in life and they will have had their first taste of the satisfaction that comes with a job well done.
This is an original news article © The Kids Window
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