Blocks are incredibly valuable learning tools. For more than a hundred years, educators have used block play to help accelerate students’ cognitive and social development. Blocks play an important part in a wide variety of curricula developed by some of the world’s most noted educators, from Maria Montessori to Unit Block inventor Caroline Pratt.
Studies dating back to the 1940s indicate that blocks help absorb basic math concepts. More recently, a 2001 study in the Journal of Research in Childhood Education that tracked 37 preschoolers showed that those who demonstrated more sophisticated block play achieved higher grades in math and standardized test scores in high school. A 2007 study in the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine revealed that children with block play experience scored higher on language acquisition tests.
