Setting Up the Blocks Center
The first thing you need to do when setting up your blocks center is to pull up the Instructional Quality Guidelines for your learning environment. (That link will take you to the Bright From the Start guidelines for Georgia Pre-K, so if you are in another state your requirements may vary slightly.) The blocks center is going to be one of the most popular in your classroom, so it needs to be pretty spacious. Teachers usually set up their blocks shelving around the rug where large group instruction takes place. You will probably want to do the same because you do not want to listen to kids slamming wooden blocks down on bare floors for an hour every day.
Here is a picture of how I am setting up my blocks center this year. I was able to mostly finish working on it today. Yes, I listened to the entire Hamilton sound track while I worked. I was singing and dancing, thinking I was the only person in my building, when another teacher tapped on my window and scared me!
Requirements for the Block Center (Georgia BFTS):
- Minimum 200-250 unit blocks
- Minimum 20-30 hollow wooden blocks
- 3 types of blocks accessories
- 2 types of "real and found" items
- Materials to promote literacy
- Minimum of 10-20 of an additional type of block
Unit Blocks
The first listed requirement is 200-250 unit blocks. These are smaller wooden blocks that come in various shapes. Make sure that you count how many that you've got in your classroom. Depending on who your consultant is, they may ask you to pull them out and count them when they visit for inspections.
You also need to make sure they are stored properly, on block shelving and not inside of bins or containers. They need to be placed on the shelving in a manner that provides your students with daily opportunities to sort and organize them as they put them away after free-play centers! I painted the ends of my blocks with the same non-toxic paint the students use and traced the shapes on the shelves. This provides my students with two ways to sort the unit blocks (by color and by matching the shapes to the outlines on each shelf).
Hollow Wooden Blocks
You're also going to need to have 20-30 hollow wooden blocks for your students to play with. You're going to want to count these as well and make sure that you keep an allen wrench/hex key set handy to tighten the bolts holding the blocks together. They get loosened up throughout the school year as the students play with them.
I organize my hollow blocks by placing colored stickers on them and placing clear tape over the stickers. I then place the same colored stickers and clear tape on the shelves that the blocks go on. The students still have to work hard to think about how to arrange the blocks on the shelves, but it helps them to know which blocks go on each shelf.
Block Accessories
You're going to need 3 types of block accessories. These are the things that I usually wind up changing out frequently. You will have to do a "change of environment" where you rotate in new toys and things to keep students interested in each center. For blocks, one month you might do a zoo theme, so you might have a basket of zoo animals out. The next month you might do community helpers and set out a basket of dolls or toys that relate to that topic.
I also like to keep out a basket of toy vehicles all year. The kids love to drive the cars all over the big blocks and it provides lots of chances to assess them on some of the science standards related to movement. I'm starting out this school year with plastic cars, animals, and community buildings.
Real & Found
Real and Found items are just things that are not toys but can be used for play-based learning. For the purposes of the blocks area, this can be something students use to build with or items that are related to literacy, like blue prints or maps. I am starting the year off with a bucket of PVC pipes and fittings. I also plan to add a basket of empty paper towel and toilet paper rolls. These items are both easy to come by and work well for the start of the school year.
Materials to Promote Literacy
These items are going to vary based on what your students' interests are. I like to keep a basket of those basic wooden blocks with letters and numbers on them out. I have big foam letters and numbers. I like to keep a few books out too. I do a construction theme some months and add maps or blueprints. Basically, these items just need to expose your students to letters/numbers and the concepts of print. I've got a dry erase easel out for the students to write on. I also am going to add some letter magnets to the front of my teacher assistant's desk after we have been in school a few weeks.
Additional Blocks
In Georgia, you are required to have 10-20 blocks that don't fall into the hollow wooden blocks or unit blocks categories. In one of the photos I have a basket of foam blocks that I usually leave out. I swapped that out today with a crate of large Legos.
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