Our Block Town

Together the class builds a town out of foam blocks: each child builds a house, then we add streets, a square, a store and a park where we play at living there. It works on organizing space, shared pretend play and getting along.

How to play

1. Sitting down, we decide what a town has (houses, streets, a store, a park, a square), and the teacher marks the square in the middle with a fabric (2 min).
2. Each child builds a small house with blocks around the square, leaving streets between them (4 min).
3. We make a park with fabrics and cushions on one side of the square and a cushion store in a corner (2 min).
4. We play at town life: shop at the cushion store, knock on neighbors' doors to visit and sit in the park (5 min).
5. At the end, everyone shows their house and tells who lives there (3 min).

Rules

• Streets stay clear so people can get through.
• To go into someone else's house, knock and wait to be invited.
• We don't knock down the neighbors' houses.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: the child's house sits on a wide street and neighbors visit with a mobile store.
• Autism: the child's house can be in a quiet corner and they choose when to have visitors.
• Visual impairment: the child's door has a specially textured fabric so they can recognize it.

Learning goals

• Organize the room into meaningful areas.
• Develop group pretend play about everyday life.
• Respect other people's space and creations.

Equipment for a class of 25

• Foam blocks: 50
• Fabric pieces: 10
• Cushions: 8

Teacher tip

It's a calm session, perfect after a very active one. Don't direct the town play too much; the richness is in what they invent.

More activities like this

More main activities for Elementary