Stacking blocks…do you remember those? As you can see from the picture above they’ve become a bit more sophisticated these days. But, the concept is still the same.
I don’t know about you but I was taught to stack the pieces in order from biggest to smallest. And something innate told me that whenever I was playing with a child using this toy I should teach them the same thing.
Well, yesterday I was playing with an almost 3 year old and I decided to mix things up on her. Without help, she stacked them like this:
I took off the top piece from each stack and moved them around. She immediately told me I was wrong and fixed it. Deciding to start over I emptied the stacks and proceeded to replace them all like this:
The little girl got quite upset and proceeded to empty the stacks and replace them correctly. We went back and forth like this a couple of times. But, eventually, she stacked them like this:
I smiled. And I wondered what future generations would do, what they wouldn’t do, what they would dream, what they would risk…if we we didn’t teach them they were wrong and incompetent if they didn’t stack the blocks in the proper shape and size order.
Did you stack the blocks the “right” way as a child?
I liked the article Katie.
I won’t even tell you what I did with my blocks…….
haha, i can only imagine, tom! i'm sure they weren't used to build towers :)
I was scolded by my kindergarten teacher for not coloring “correctly” because my strokes were diagonal, even though they were in the lines. Never forgot it! Glad you are encouraging otherwise. :)
seriously, i wonder how many scarred kids there are out there because they didn't color "correctly." i'm all for diagonal :)
Western cities all have skyscrapers and buildings that are built the same. Yes, they have very different variations and designs, but it's all built with the same rules.
then there's Dubai.
If you want to see creative architecture, go to Dubai. Holy cow.
I wonder how those guys built blocks when they were kids.
When i was in kindergarten, I would never color in the lines. Then I was taught to mash down the crayon when drawing the outline, to create a barrier for the crayon when filling in the color.
I became anal about it. I would mash it harder than normal taught… hey, if you convince me to do something, I'm gonna go all out.
But at the heart of me, I color outside the lines. It's taken years to unlearn and to value the messiness & unpredictable.
they probably didn't build with blocks…they probably used sticks and rocks or something much less uniform lending itself much more to creative architecture.
haha…i've heard that coloring story before and can picture you sitting there as a 5 year old mashing down the crayon, breaking them in the process and getting frustrated :)
keep coloring outside the lines…it's what makes you you! messy & unpredictable creativity is the best…IMHO.
I don't remember ever having things as a kid. We had the larger wooden blocks that were cream colored and could double as door stops and weapons.
But on a different note, my floors are jealous of your floors.
ha, my floors are jealous of those floors too :) they aren't mine…but i wish they were!
From the woman who made u stack the blocks "correctly", I am SOOOO proud that u have learned to use your creativity to serve our Savior….may u continue to seek Him all your days!!! I LOVE U!!!!
I did stack them "correctly" as a child. But, this is a really interesting concept…breaking the mold of society is important sometimes, as well as not everything goes the way it is "supposed" to. Good post!
thanks, michelle! i'm on a mission to continue trying to break the mold :)