The South Madison Community Event Calendar was created to help keep our small towns strong, even as we grow. The Community Event Calendar is managed by the South Madison Community Foundation as a tool to support nonprofit and community organizations in their efforts to create a more vibrant and connected community.
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“Block” Party
December 10 @ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
The Block Party program offered by Purdue Extension provides events that include free play with blocks of all types and sizes for families and their children ages 8 months to 8 years. Parents interact and play with their children while learning how to help them develop a variety of skills such as math, science, social, physical, new words, pre-reading, creative, and problem-solving skills.
In some cases, blocks as a play material have disappeared from many homes and early childhood centers, but young children still need and deserve opportunities that blocks offer to play freely!
Benefits of Block Play
Purdue Extension faculty and educators are studying block play as a rich, developmentally appropriate activity for young children- one that contributes to their readiness for kindergarten. Researchers have found:
Children develop a variety of skills through block play –
Math
Early Engineering
Social Skills
Physics
Creativity
Physical Skills and Movement
Preschoolers playing with large “loose parts” blocks demonstrated twice as much whole-body movement and four times as many early engineering behaviors as compared with play on a traditional playground.
Girls and boys were equally physically active and equally engaged in early engineering.
Parents who attended and Extension-sponsored Block Party reported a fourfold increase in their understanding of the value of block play and how to support their children’s play.
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