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About
Unit Blocks
How Many
Blocks and what shapes does a Child need?
Rule
of thumb - we think that a child of 5 years or older needs about 200
blocks, and a bright six year old can easily use more. Two children need a smaller number
per child (maybe 125), and children less than 5 need a smaller number (Maybe 100).
A classroom
with ten children can work with 750 blocks. But no matter how many
blocks you buy, your children will run out of blocks - run
out of some shapes sooner than others, and go through periods
when they are employing a lot of one shape, and other periods
when employing a different shape. Building aqueducts
requires a lot of arches. Building buildings requires a
lot of rectangles. Building the Lincoln Memorial requires
a lot of columns. The only way to handle this dilemma is
to buy a foundation set and add to it over time as you observe your
children running out of this or that. We sell open stock
and booster kits for this purpose, and there is little need to
buy all of your blocks at one time.
Kits for the
Individual Family
Buying Kits for
your family is different than buying kits
for schools: the blocks are identical, but the range and
composition of shapes is different. Children will
begin to play with toy unit blocks from around
the age of 3 years and will continue to do so until they are 10
or 11 years old. Obviously, the shapes required become
more extensive as the child matures, and considerably more
varied than those required in schools. School kits are too primitive for home
play by a seven year old. In order to build the stuff
that will engage a third grader - a wider range is necessary
to make more complicated structures. Children play with
blocks for a very extended period of time, and a good set of
blocks will last for many generations. They are virtually
indestructible, and we see sets of blocks that are fifty years
old and older.
Kits for Schools
Buying kits for
schools is a simpler proposition. For one
thing, these are primarily used in pre-school, kindergarten,
and first grade. Many of the authors,
teachers, and other authorities on Block Play are focused on
these younger children, and while the sets they recommend are quite large,
the range of shapes is narrow. This is
because younger children are not ready to build anything
recognizable, but instead are learning very complicated things
about shapes and their relationships. This problem is self-fulfilling:
teachers note that older children lose interest - but this is
because the block sets they employ are too primitive for an older child. (We do wish that some teacher would try to
pitch a book more at third and fourth graders - but alas, this
is not the case). Our school kits are made with certain
text references in mind as these often include recommendations about
an appropriate set for classroom use. We are always ready
to contemplate a new school set if your school or district has a
specific requirement. We also sell bulk
boxes of certain shapes in order to boost your current inventory.
Blocks Quality
All of our blocks
are fashioned according to a 1-3/8 inch modulus. Our
blocks are made of American Rock Maple. The unit
block is 1-3/8 by 2-3/4 by 5-1/2 - the customary scale for
school blocks. Our blocks are
available in
Premium Maple
and in Maple
First and Seconds;
the latter having defects of color (only).
They are exactly the same as the premium blocks except that they
may have grey spots or streaks caused by enzymes in the wood.
They are made from the same lumber, at the same time, in the same
way. The premium blocks are then hand picked for uniform
color. Our
blocks are independently tested for Lead and Phthalates in
accordance with the CPSC and show no detectable amounts of these
foreign chemicals. They are unconditionally
guaranteed as to workmanship and materials. Cracked or
broken blocks (not caused by abuse) should be thrown away, and
we will supply replacements free of charge. |