Building physical structures from simple blocks or loose pieces can help young children develop fundamental math, physics, and engineering skills. But not all children gravitate to building in their free play. If adequate and intentional time, space, and materials are provided to support children when building, there is greater opportunity for these important skills to develop. Supporting the rich narrative play that naturally arises during building further enhances each child’s development.
Drawing from more than 25 years of experience encouraging young children to embrace their inner architect and storyteller, Carol Stephenson will discuss ways to engage, understand, and assess individual growth. Discover how you can maximize your classroom space, budget, and schedule to bring out the best in all your builders!
Carol Stephenson
Carol has been an Early Years teacher at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study for more than 25 years. Fascinated by how young children think and express their understanding, she continues to search for ways to best support her students’ engagement with big ideas, opening the doors to complexity and meaningful discourse. Carol has been invited to speak to educators in Canada, the United States, China, Japan and India. She has been a part of the Robertson Program for many years, acting as an education consultant, as well leading components of our math professional development programming.
