Every year, there’s a group of kiddos who love building and creating in the preschool block center.
Some years, the entire class is completely enamored with the area, and I don’t blame them. There’s a reason blocks have been a traditionally loved children’s toy!
Take a Tour of the Preschool Block Center
Every year, I make changes in how the classroom is set up. Sometimes the changes are big, and sometimes they’re small. I like to think every year the physical classroom environment improves a little bit. Do you do that, too?
Everyday items to keep in the center
Below are what we have stocked in the block center all the time. There’s a wide variety of items available, but I may add large colorful blocks sometime in the near future.
- Hardwood blocks
- Colorful wood blocks
- Multicultural families
- Wooden town blocks
- Colorful glass jewels
- Empty thread spools
- Empty cardboard boxes
Side Items
To enhance the students’ experience in the block area, I store a few other items on the side of the building shelf.
“Work in progress” signs are hung on the side of the shelf. You can use these for kids to tell others that they aren’t quite done with their buildings.
On the back of the shelf, I have tons of pictures of the kids with their structures.
Related: Pet Small World in the Block Center
I made a flip book of structures from around the world, too. The children love to check out the buildings and try to recreate those structures.
To create the book, I scoured Creative Commons images for ideas. Then I labeled the pictures, printed them out, and laminated them. They hang on a ring on the side of the building shelf.
I also have books in a basket near the building center. These books relate to building, structures, transportation, etc. Here are some books to include with the blocks:
- We Share Everything by Robert Munsch
- The White House by Lloyd G. Douglas
- 13 Buildings Children Should Know by Annette Roeder
- Building Our House by Jonathan Bean
- Three Little Pigs by Golden Books
Related: What Children’s Books Should Be in the Block Center?
Other items for the block center
You and your students can use the preschool block center so much — building, creating, 3-dimensional art, small worlds, and pretend play.
Despite all of the storage space I have, there’s just no way to contain everything the kiddos could use here. So I have other toys stored in my classroom closet, and we have a ton of additional items in our school workroom.
Some of the fun things to add to the block area include:
Related: Extending Block Play in the Classroom
Storage and Organization in the Building Center
The every day block center items are kept in a mobile shelf. I love it because it has wheels.
Since I have to move the furniture on a weekly basis (we are located in a church, and they use the classrooms on the weekend), this makes my life easier! The blocks keep the shelf sturdy, though, so the kids cannot move the shelf accidentally.
The small items are kept in plastic tubs. I made sure to label the tubs are labeled, and their spots on the shelf are labeled as well. The larger items are organized on the shelves directly.
I used Contact paper to help guide the children in putting away these large blocks. I measured the contact paper to the size of the shelves, then traced the blocks using a pencil. Then I went back over the pencil using a permanent marker. From there, I put the Contact paper on the appropriate shelf.
The kiddos do an amazing job cleaning up the preschool block center when they’re done thanks to this organization.
Other Preschool Building Centers
Pop on over and see how others have their block centers setup:
- PreKinders’ building area
- The block center at Pre-K Pages
- How Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds has her area set up
How do you have your preschool block center set up? If you teach other grades or home school, how are your blocks organized?
Add the World Structures STEM Challenges Pack to Your Block Center
Having real photos of structures from around the world can be so beneficial to your preschool or kindergarten students. This done-for-you resource has over 70 pages of real world structures, planning pages, recording pages, and more for you and your students.
Grab your own World Structures STEM Pack!
You can also find it on Teachers Pay Teachers
Here’s what’s included:
32 full-page images of real world structures
10 full-page images of castles around the world
All images provided in a four to a page option
4 versions of planning and blueprint design pages
6 versions of recording pages for finished structures
6 class book cover options.
Grab your own World Structures STEM Pack!
You can also find it on Teachers Pay Teachers
Originally published on January 19, 2014
Anik says
January 19, 2014 at 3:00 pmI love it! Such well organized and child friendly unit! I wish I could work in such great place 🙂
Mary Catherine says
January 27, 2014 at 10:19 pmThanks, Anik! I am definitely blessed to work in a preschool with amazing co-workers! I also have a lot of encouragement to keep growing and learning. 🙂
STacey says
January 20, 2014 at 10:46 amWow! Nice job. Would you mind sharing what pictures you have on your cards besides The Great Wall of China?
Mary Catherine says
January 27, 2014 at 10:33 pmThank you so much, Stacey! Keep in mind, I’m in the States. I started with a small set of structures (about 10), some of which the kiddos were already familiar with. Since the children are SO into building this year, a few of them asked for more pages in our building book. I have tried my best to bring in different cultures and countries, but I’m still learning here too! 🙂 Here’s what I have as of now . . .
The Great Wall of China
The White House (USA)
The Parthenon (Greece)
Stonehenge (England)
Eiffel Tower (France)
Rome Colosseum (Italy)
Chrysler Building (USA)
Statue of Liberty (USA)
Sydney Opera House (Australia)
Big Ben (England)
The Kremlin (Russia)
Pyramids of Giza (Egypt)
Machu Picchu (Peru)
El Castillo (Mexico)
Nabemba Tower (Republic of Congo)
Taj Mahal (India)
Burj Khalifa (United Arab Emirates)
Hagia Sophia (Turkey)
Brandenburg Gate (Germany)
Sagrada Familia (Spain)
Neuschwanstein (Bavaria)
Angkor Wat (Cambodia)
The Blue Mosque (Turkey)
Forbidden City (China)
Faisal Mosque (Pakistan)
Temple of Besakih (Indonesia)
The Wailing Wall (Israel)
Minaret of Jam (Afghanistan)
Golden Temple of Amritsar (India)
Newgrange (Ireland)
Amanda says
January 21, 2014 at 12:43 pmMy block center in my Kindergarten classroom used to look very similar. I love organization and think that they kids are able to learn when everything has a place. I need to make a picture book for my own house so that my kids can build replicas of famous structures. Great idea for global learning. Shared via Twitter
Mary Catherine says
January 27, 2014 at 10:38 pmThanks for the kind words and all the sharing, Amanda! 🙂 My son helped me choose some of the newer structures that were added to the preschool book. Needless to say, we’ll also be making a book for my house.
Suja Balaji says
January 21, 2014 at 1:21 pmYou have done such a great job! I love the contact paper idea as well, makes it easier for the kiddos to clean u because they know exactly where each block goes.
Mary Catherine says
January 27, 2014 at 10:39 pmThanks so much, Suja! 🙂 The children do an awesome job cleaning up nowadays! As long as I take a picture of their structures, they’re usually happy to put things away on their own. My wonderful coworker, aka Miss Brit, is the one who gave me the idea for the contact paper “guide” for the blocks.
Katie @ Happilyevermom says
January 22, 2014 at 11:39 pmI love the way you’ve organized your block area! The signs for “work in progress” are fantastic (I wish I was still in the classroom!). And, the contact paper to draw the shapes of your unit blocks is an idea I’m going to use here at home! Thank you…I’ve been dreading cutting up paper to match each block shape, but now I can use your idea!! Love it! 🙂
Mary Catherine says
January 27, 2014 at 10:42 pmThanks for the great feedback, Katie! It is amazing how well the “work in progress” signs help the children. I’ve noticed that those signs have begun migrating around the room to a variety of other centers now. I actually need to print and laminate more. The sticky paper works sooooo well — I would definitely suggest that rather than cutting up pieces of paper!
Sarah says
January 24, 2014 at 9:40 amSo cool! Makes me want to have a block set up at home like this!
Mary Catherine says
January 27, 2014 at 10:43 pmThanks, Sarah! I wish we could have the same set up at my house, too! However, my personal budget just isn’t the same as a school’s budget! 🙂
Ruth says
January 25, 2014 at 1:26 amLove your block center set-up: the books in a basket and the flip book of actual buildings/structures I will definately be adding to our center: Thank you!!
Mary Catherine says
January 27, 2014 at 10:44 pmThank you, Ruth!! Let me know how it goes with your kiddos after you’ve added those components! I would love to hear what your children have to say about the changes. 🙂
Nichole says
January 27, 2014 at 1:03 amThanks for sharing a glimpse into your classroom. I’ve been thinking about making a book of buildings for the block area at preschool. It has obviously proved popular with your kids. Love the work in progress signs too 🙂
Mary Catherine says
January 27, 2014 at 10:45 pmThank you, Nichole! 🙂 My kiddos LOVE that flip book of the real structure pictures. Let me know how your kiddos react once you add the book to your blocks.
Leigh Ann Gombac says
January 27, 2014 at 7:19 pmI also would like to know what other structures you have in your picture flip book, what a great idea!!
Mary Catherine says
January 27, 2014 at 10:46 pmI appreciate it, Leigh Ann!! 🙂 I just gave my long-winded response above — I hope you’re able to check the list out.
Leigh Ann Gombac says
January 29, 2014 at 11:00 pmYes, I was able to get the information requested. What a lot of structures, I think I shall start with a few then add as the children get bored. Thank you!!
Mary Catherine says
February 9, 2014 at 6:09 pmI would definitely start with just a few as well! I started with about 10. Since these kiddos are SO interested in the buildings, they actually asked for more. That’s why there’s such a long list! 🙂 Plus, it’ll be easy to rotate the pictures out every so often.
Chris says
January 28, 2014 at 2:03 amGreat ideas. One thing that I also do is have the child or children who built a structure leave their name on it. They do this by writing their own names then they draw around their hand and put a cross through it. This is then a reminder to others to please leave it alone. Buildings can remain up for the day or sometimes longer.
Mary Catherine says
January 28, 2014 at 6:08 amOh, that is a lovely idea!! I may need to incorporate the name writing sign into our block area as well. Thanks so much for sharing it! I so wish I could let the blocks stay up for however long the kids want, but we’re located in a church and have to have everything put away at the end of the day (since we share the room). But I love that your kiddos can keep them up!
Stephanie @ Twodaloo says
January 28, 2014 at 9:30 pmOh my word. I can’t believe I haven’t commented yet on this post. You have my heart, Mama! I’d love for my children to attend your school 😉 😉
Mary Catherine says
February 9, 2014 at 6:10 pmAnd I can’t believe it took me this long to reply to you! You are SO SWEET, woman! That is the highest compliment….thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!
Michelle says
February 1, 2014 at 2:46 pmThank you for this great post! I love your ideas and have just spent the evening making up a book of structures for our own nursery construction area. It will give our children some wonderful inspiration and encourage them to build with a purpose!
Mary Catherine says
February 9, 2014 at 6:11 pmMichelle, thank you so much for your immensely kind words. I have a big smile on my face! I’d love to hear about how your students interacted with the book of structures!
kt says
August 30, 2014 at 10:02 amI’m interested in the larger size blocks that you have on your shelf.
Nichole says
March 10, 2016 at 8:49 amAt what point do their work in progress have to be put away?
Mary Catherine says
July 23, 2016 at 6:02 pmSince the classroom is in a church, we have to clean everything up before the end of the day.
leslee says
January 1, 2017 at 10:43 amI have my blocks mostly in tubs… I saw this on prek site. It took too long for the cleanup of stacking the blocks… so i think this works better. I have little plastic tubs of animals, one for sea, farm, forest, wild animals, people and cars. I have larger wooden trucks and airplance awaiting a fire truck . have a train set did not put out yet but will upon return since we are studying unit on transportation. need a basket for that. yikes
Mary Catherine says
January 1, 2017 at 11:16 amThanks for popping by! I love hearing how others have their blocks set up. 🙂
Nurul says
January 14, 2019 at 8:27 amI love your block center. It was so organised.
I want to ask
Do you allow them to play the block after their snack time?
Mary Catherine says
January 21, 2019 at 11:51 amThanks so much, Nurul! It depends on the schedule I have each year. I do tend to let the children use a variety of the centers during free time after snack as long as the children are following the rules of each center.