I spend quite a bit of time cleaning the center.  No matter how often things are cleaned, there is always a toy that has gotten dirty, a window that has fingerprints, or a corner that has a cobweb. I realize that as a director I should be directing others to clean, but I enjoy cleaning when I have time.  It relaxes me, and I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment that having a clean area gives.

Today I decided to tackle the blocks in the schooler room.  There were many blocks, almost too many for the shelves that held them, and the poor storage space made the children less likely to pull them out and build.  My original mission was to clean them, sort them, and store them so that they were more attractive to the children and more likely to be used.  As with many things, my mission changed when I began to work on the blocks.

As I cleaned and sorted the blocks, I discovered that many of them had developed rough places and splinters (I even got a few splinters from them).  Many of them could only be saved by a major sanding job.  Looking at the number of blocks that were worn, and the number that were left, I concluded that the best thing to do would be to discard the blocks that were in poor condition.

Now, I am not a hoarder.  I enjoy cleaning and have no patience with things that have been sitting, covered in dust, for several years because "someone may need them sometime".  If an item has no use, does not meet best practice requirements, or is broken - out it goes.  It did pain me, however, to throw out the blocks.  I love blocks - I love the feel of the wood, I love the way that the unit blocks fit with each other, and I love the things that can be built.  It was with a very heavy heart and a strong feeling of guilt that I piled the blocks on the cart to go to the dumpster.

As I was grieving over the loss of the blocks, it occurred to me that the center has been open for forty years and some of those blocks had probably been here for most of those years.  The blocks were in rough shape because they had been loved and used by years of children.  The blocks had been castles, zoos, houses, roads, and buildings.  The blocks had been laid out on the floor so that the children could push cars or walk on the road.  The blocks had been towers that were so high that when they fell there was a loud (and satisfying) crash.  The blocks were not just junk, they were an important part of the lives of many children.  It was suddenly easier to let the blocks go when I thought of all of the fun and learning that the children had derived from playing with them.

I still feel that an early childhood program can never have too many blocks, but I have discovered that since the area is more organized and the children are not concerned about splinters, they are building again.  Perhaps in another forty years another director will have to clean out the blocks, but I am enjoying them now.

A quality early childhood classroom has a number of learning centers, each of which provides a different experience for the children in that classroom.  Some of the more common learning centers are dramatic play, blocks, art, writing, science, sensory, and the cozy corner.  These centers can change often, but keep the basic intent of the area.  The dramatic play area can be a home, a store, a doctor's office, a produce stand - all allow the children to pretend, imagine, and increase their understanding of the world around them.  The sensory area (or tub) may have water, soapy water, ice water, dry coffee grounds, colored rice - the list can go on and on.  No matter what the center or its contents, however, the rule in the classroom often is that "each item stays in its own center".  Fortunately, our four year old teacher does not believe that all toys are used in a vacuum and keeps some of her toys in nontraditional areas.  She even (gasp!) keeps the tools in the block area, rather than relegating them to a tool bench.  I know that it may seem logical that tools and wood go together, but many early childhood teachers do not follow that line of thinking.

Two of our boys, who love to build all kinds of amazing structures with the blocks, have enjoyed having the plastic hammers available, and spend a good share of their day happily hammering the blocks.  Yesterday they began to build with the unit blocks.  They began by laying the longest blocks side-by-side They began to hit the blocks with the hammer, but discovered that the ends weren't even.  The boys then laid on the floor and tapped the blocks with the hammers until they were in a straight line. Once the base was even, they worked to add to the structure and the base began to take shape.  With each addition they hammered until they were satisfied that it was correct.




When the base was complete, the vertical structures were added.  The two boys would each add new elements to the structure.  Again, each new piece was hammered into place, and tapped lightly with the hammer if it needed to be moved into a slightly different place.  While they built, the boys discussed other blocks that would be needed for their structure.  The new blocks were added one by one, adjusted, and hammered into place.



As the  boys worked, they discussed the structure.  One felt that it was a party boat, while the other felt that it should be a fire boat.  At the suggestion of one of the boys, they decided that it would be a party fire boat. As they built, they thought of things that the boat would need to be complete.  "These are seats for the people on the boat."  "They can climb up here to see where they are going/"  As they visualized and verbalized each item, they searched for the blocks that would be just right to for that part of the boat

After some discussion it was decided that the seats should be located under the tower so that the people on the boat could climb up quickly if necessary.

The party fire boat, when the last block was put on and the last piece was hammered, was a masterpiece.  The boys had worked together to plan and build a wonderful creation.  Along the way they had practiced the give and take of social situations and cooperation, verbalized their ideas and built their language, exercised their long arm muscles, and worked with algebra and geometry by using the unit blocks.  It seemed a shame to put the blocks away at the end of the day, but the story of the party fire boat is captured in pictures, and the next day .... there was another block masterpiece.