The School Kit is a very large kit of blocks,
suitable for small kindergarten classes, pre-schools or day-care
operations. It includes a full range of pieces including twelve of the
22 inch rectangles, and over one hundred and sixty of the other basic
rectangle blocks of other sizes. This kit allows a bunch of children to
make a whole city, and there are enough pieces to permit cooperative
play without hoarding. While bags are supplied, a system of shelves or
cubbies are really required for adequate storage. These should be
sufficiently robust to support 250 pounds or more, and low enough for
children to ritualize taking blocks out of storage and putting them away
again. Teachers will find that these blocks work well with available
lesson plans and projects as given by organizations like the Bank Street
School and the National Association for the Education of Young Children
(NAEYC). With a kit this size, the sky is the limit. Children will
cantilevered structures and tall towers. Boxes on top of boxes can make
a structure that reaches nearly as high as the ceiling. Construction
projects may include projects with windows, doors, walkways, wheelchair
ramps, etc. Many of the smaller pieces become more fully integrated
as decoration in battlements, fenestration, fancy entries, steps, and
statuary. Children vary in their interest in these things, but many of
them become blockaholics, and will spend hours and days completing
incredibly creative and complicated projects. Additionally, this is a
good set for cooperative play between four and five year old children
and their younger siblings.