We thought it would be fun to put together some blog posts on toys that will provide imaginative play and fun learning for your children for years.
Starting with one of our favourite ranges "Haba's Wood Block construction system"
The Haba range is extensive and they have so many unusual shapes patterns and sets to choose from you can create your own little world with Haba Blocks. These are great value toys - not the cheapest bricks on the block but we maintain the best value in terms of quality, design, colours, shape, range and the fact that these will be saved to pass onto the next generation and they'll still look great!
The early years range includes sets such as Zoolino, Plug and Stack, Eeny Miny Zoo, and Cordoba - all available on our web pages - just click the images below;
L
ittle wood blocks first became an established feature of nurseries and kindergartens more than 150 years ago. Children's fascination with cubes, rectangles, and triangles is just as intense today as it was in great grandpa's day. This is because wood building blocks are an elemental toy. The variety they provide and the endless opportunities to combine play and fun with learning are the features to which building blocks owe their lasting appear. Wood blocks enable children to fashion their own worlds - because they are an especially creative toy. Using wood blocks develops both hand and mind; in short wooden building blocks provide challenge to stimulate your kids. With your support wood building blocks will be one of your child’s best used and most loved toys. Give your child the time and space to build things and you will soon be amazed at the imaginative outcome, and you simply won't believe how fast the child is learning. From baby's first blocks to a junior architect these wood blocks will bring years of play and exploration.
Building means learning Building blocks help and support two of children's natural needs - copying everything they see the adults do, and construction things. Both bring them confidence in dealing with the world. With wood building blocks children master spatial concepts through play, they obtain a grasp of the third dimension. Constant repetition and trial also teaches them the laws of gravity.
Building with a system The basic building block is the 4 x 4 x 4 cm cube. All the other shapes are derived from this. The triangular block, for example is the cube diagonally halved. The rectangles and columns are either two three or several times the length of the cube. This symmetry means the various shapes easily combine while building. All Haba blocks follow this principle so if your child has a set of lovely colourful nursery blocks they will be able to integrate them into the marble run tracks and the building system as they get older. This not only increases the fun and creativity but means you are buying a great value toy. A set of wood unit blocks bought when a child is in his or her early years will last for at least 10 years, and the children will be having as much fun when they are 11 and constructing working models as they were when they were just one and building towers to knock over! How does a cube taste? Exciting experiments
At around one year your child will explore the building blocks with all his senses. What do they taste like and what sound do they make, as well as how they feel, size weight shape will all be thoroughly investigated. Suddenly your child will discover - building blocks stand up and also that they probably do not taste as good as a banana!
Children hold two blocks one upon the other without letting go, or they bang the blocks together - have you spotted children doing this? We call this building in the air. In their second year they begin forming long rows, they will still build in the air - putting both blocks together in the air without letting go, and they might start to pile the bricks - often this involves gathering all the blocks in both arms and pulling them close.
Stacking blocks is the start of building, the actual building process is more important to the children than the finished building - they will constantly demolish in order to rebuild. The classic leaning tower of Pisa can be a fun game for little ones.... Starting to Build
As your child gets older they begin to learn more - its all down to statics - how do two blocks stand up on edge? What is statics we hear you ask!!? Well Statics is the branch of mechanics concerned with the analysis of loads (force/torque) on physical systems in static equilibrium, that is, in a state where the relative positions of subsystems do not vary over time, or where components and structures are at a constant velocity. When in static equilibrium, the system is either at rest, or its centre of mass moves at constant velocity) and your child will learn all this playing with wood blocks!!
With time children learn where and how they have to support these wood blocks. Their buildings begin to obey the laws of gravity! Initially children construct compact rows of blocks without gaps, but the distance between the blocks becomes greater as they experiement and in this way children learn to include gaps and then to bridge two wood blocks with a third. Sophisticated builders may try to construct a staircase, where two pillars bear the imposing flight of steps and another blocks is used as a counter weight. Soon your child will be building in 3d - they will have understood length and height and they will start to explore the spatial depth. At first structures may look like heaps, but with time children begin to refine them. The structures do not always have to represent a certain building. Children often delgiht in the beauty of form alone and wood blocks from Haba are beautiful offering many different and exciting combinations of shape, colour and interest.
Ideas for play with Building Blocks First games with wood blocks can include Pyramid Skittles: The children build a pyramid, four wood blocks on the bottom, three in the second row, two on the next until they have to balance the top wood block....Then make a starting line and start to throw your ball at the skittles. The best thing to use to knock them down is a soft ball or a beanbag is a good (safe!) alternative. Games with wood block skittles can include; Who gets the most blocks with one shot? Or see how many throws it takes to knock all the wood blocks down.. Toddlers will love to play over and over!
Children will always find wonderful things to incorporate into their wood block building games, some examples we have seen include, a farm yard, a toy town where cars drive on flat blocks criss cross through the town. Jolly good that the traffic is directed by traffic lights, signposts and childrens hands! For a child who indulges her imagination you can even create your own dolls house furniture sets with wood building blocks. Tips for great buildings
- Help a child understand that they need to bond or overlap their masonry when building a town or a building to make them more stable. You will find children are quick to grasp bonded building once they have had a few calamitous crashes!
- Walls with corners can be built using shaped blocks and columns. This gives the possibility to change the angle of the corners to suit your space and your particular building.
- Windows can be incorporated into walls in many ways, as straightforward rectangles, or with Roman arches or pointed arches just like Notre Dame Cathedral. With the Haba system architecture can be as easy as pie!
- If you are planning a door or a gate in a wall you should make sure its sides are the correct distance apart for the top stone to fit perfectly.
- Remember ROME WAS NOT BUILT IN A DAY and your child will not want to clear away his blocks in the evening if he has been working hard on a project. Make sure she has enough space for the building site to occupy for several days on end. This will also help to foster your child’s perseverance and ability to plan longer larger projects.
Budding Architects Haba's system grows as your little architects grow. Blocks in new shapes for example cross shaped blocks, will provide variety and are a sensible addition to the toy box of an older child. Elements such as the u shaped cube are ideal for designing interesting houses. The small gables consisting of triangles also open up the facade. Use the cross shapes to give your building a half timbered look. Imagination makes it work and with some of the Haba add on sets you can turn shapes into trellis-work fences, chimney stacks and small castles. A piece of card turns into a house roof in the blink of any eye cut a square piece of cardboard fold in the centre and stick modelling straw or dried grass on create a unique rooftop for your house.
Budding Architects and Designers will love the new Technics range with wheels and connectors.
Haba's system grows as your little architects grow. Blocks in new shapes for example cross shaped blocks, will provide variety and are a sensible addition to the toy box of an older child.
Who are Haba Toys? Haba is a multi award winning German company who are the self-titled ‘Inventor for children.’ Their fairytale like toy factory has 15 ‘inventors’ constantly working on new ideas for exciting and innovative toys although the company continue to sell the endlessly popular building blocks they first produced in 1938. The result is impressive: Haba make a wide range of toys, accessories and home products for all genders, ages and interests. For babies, the clear colours and shapes and varying textures of the toys stimulate sensory perception and comprehension of the world through play. Toddlers and children can also mentally benefit from the Haba games which aid colour theory, simple sums, speech development and fine motor manipulations. The quality of the Haba toys is faultless and creates toys of ‘heirloom quality’, which makes the products perfect for christening gifts or birthday presents. The materials used are chosen from an environmentally friendly point of view and so indigenous maple, beech wood and water based paints are primarily used and well as fabric, felt, leather, cardboard and glass. The enchanting toys and games are produced to make children’s life more exciting, more cheerful, more delightful, and, in a nutshell, what children deserve.
Click the Image above to see our range of wooden blocks from the Construction System
