As babies develop their pincer grip and other fine motor skills, show them how to stack small blocks: make a big deal of successful balancing AND how funny it is when things fall over!

Toddlers and towers

• For little kids, destruction is just much fun as construction – probably more! So make a game of it: you build towers as fast as you can, and they get to knock ‘em down! It’s chaotic, fast-paced fun for everyone.
• Use big blocks little hands can grip (and not swallow!) to make stacking easier. Demonstrate techniques for kids to try, and even introduce concepts to your towers if you want: colours, shapes, patterns, numbers….

Building models and sets with bigger kids

• At first, kids may be impatient: they want to play with the model shown on the box RIGHT AWAY! (Great news for you: now YOU get to build the cool starship!) You can help kids build while involving them in the process: have them sort pieces by colour or by shape. Ask them to collect all the pieces the instructions show are needed for the next step.
• If you’re building a set based on a TV show or movie kids love, talk about the characters and the story – even listen to the music! Building together is a great way to connect with kids and learn about their likes, dislikes, and ideas.
• Remember: you don’t HAVE to follow the instructions! There are tons of great ways to build together using your imaginations. Grab some bricks or blocks and throw out an idea: “Okay, everyone make…a DOG!” Then see what everyone comes up with.
• Once kids are building on their own – maybe better than you can! – make it a together-time activity by building different sets at the same time. You can compare projects, talk about the differences and similarities, the pieces used, and each show off your final builds. This way, you can choose a project that really appeals to you – and when you’re having fun, kids are, too.