Construction activities

Construction play involves manipulating one or more pieces of play materials to create something new. This may involve a variety of methods -stacking, sticking, putting together, taking things apart, sorting or moulding, to name a few.

Construction play develops all types of skills and behaviours;

• The motor skills necessary to create and manipulate the items
• Imagination skills
• Planning & ideation skills; the ability to try out and test ideas
• Perseverance when things don’t work. 
• When working with others, turn taking and collaboration skills

Activity ideas

• Add new materials to your child’s building block set-empty plastic tubs, pieces of fabric, balls of wool, shells, bottle tops, lengths of ribbon, stones etc.
• Make models from a cereal box or toilet roll tube adding lollipop sticks, buttons, googly eyes, string, sequins, felt tipped pens, tape, cotton wool, paint.
• Add new materials to playdough (lots of recipes online)– matchsticks, lollipop sticks, googly eyes, buttons, sequins etc.
• Den building! Build a den from sheets, chairs, large boxes.
• Follow instructions to build a Lego model.