Early childhood education students at Sharon Elementary School use large, blue blocks during their physical education time. The blocks help develop the students’ creativity and their ability to resolve interpersonal conflicts. (Alleghany Public Schools Photo)
Large, blue blocks are helping students at Sharon Elementary School and Mountain View Elementary School in Alleghany County become more creative and enhance their ability to resolve interpersonal conflicts.
Dee Ann Tickner, an early childhood education teacher at Sharon, began using the blocks in physical education classes this year as part of an imagination playground. The blocks were already being used with students at Mountain View Elementary.
Educators have found blocks to be highly valuable learning tools. For more than 100 hundred years, educators have used blocks to help boost cognitive and social development in students. Alleghany County Public Schools were fortunate to be able to acquire these blocks commonly seen in children’s and science museums.
Early childhood education targets students in ages 3-5. It helps children develop the emotional, social and cognitive skills they need to become lifelong learners. The early childhood education classrooms at Mountain View and Sharon incorporate students with and without special needs.
Ms. Tickner, who is in her eighth year of teaching at Sharon, pulls the large, blue blocks out periodically and lets students work together in creating structures. The blocks are deliberately oversized, so students will be more inclined to help each other.
At the same time, Ms. Tickner, and her assistant, Carlee Kessinger, help students learn to resolve conflicts that may arise while they work on a project together.
“This is an opportunity to help them get along with one another and solve their own conflicts. It’s amazing to watch that,” Ms. Tickner said.
“I have some kids who have special needs, and other kids who don’t. They are all able to use these blocks no matter what their ability is,” she said.
At Mountain View Elementary School, the blocks are used as education tools by Corrainea Kaebisch, an early childhood special education teacher, and Howard Nicely, a physical education teacher.
“The early childhood children at Mountain View have worked on using the blocks to build structures which they work on together. The children name the structures as they are building and when they have difficulty the children will work together,” Ms. Kaebisch said.
Due to the size and weight of the blocks, children sometimes find they must collaborate to figure out ways to move them.
“The children also may have to change their design and then it teaches them that sometimes changes have to be made. The children also learn that it is OK to ask for help and that sometimes things may not turn out the way we think it will,” Ms. Kaebisch said.
The students at Mountain View particularly enjoy using the blocks as an obstacle course. Teachers use that time to help the students develop directional words such as “over,” “under,” and “beside.”
“The blocks also has taught compassion among our children in the class. We have children who have mobility issues and the children work together on helping these children participate in the activity. We appreciate them being part of our gym activities,” Ms. Kaebisch said.
For more information on early childhood education in Alleghany County Schools, contact Dr. Jason Conaway, director of special education at (540) 863-1809. His email address is jconaway@alleghany.k12.va.us.