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Why do it? — He aha e mahi ai?

Building with blocks and other toys allows tamariki to:

• use their problem-solving skills involving balance, size and space
• strengthen their fine motor skills and improve co-ordination and concentration

• enjoy a sense of achievement when they’ve built something.

How to do it — Te tikanga mō tēnei mahi

• Tamariki can build with blocks, boxes and plastic containers.
• Blocks can be borrowed from toy libraries or can often be found in second-hand shops.*
• The simplest thing to build is a tower — see how high they can build their tower.
• Encourage creativity by suggesting other structures they might try to build — maybe a wharenui, a garage or a barn.
• Kōrero with them about the different parts of a building: walls, floor, roof, windows, doors, steps and chimney.
• Encourage them to include other things alongside their building: toy people, vehicles or animals. Twigs stuck in playdough could be the ngahere.
• If building with recycled materials, your tamaiti can stick boxes and pottles together with glue or tape to make a more permanent building. This could be decorated with felt pens, paints or collage materials.
• Share picture books about building — for example, ‘The three little pigs’.

* If whānau want to make wooden blocks for their tamaiti, they need to use untanalised wood.

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