Children start building towers from wooden blocks. Some children will progress to larger and more complex structures as they grow. Learning that a tower of blocks may topple without proper support helps children develop valuable spatial skills. Figuring out how pieces of a toy snap together to build a bridge, a house or a car encourages hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. Playing with construction toys is crucial to a child’s ever-developing cognitive thinking skills.

Academic research shows that playing with a construction toy benefits children in a wide variety of ways as it provides an optimum way of learning, increases math performance, promotes creative problem solving, improves language skills and spurs out-of-the-box thinking!

Note: This activity needs adult supervision to make sure children do not put anything in their mouth

Steps:

1. Collect a group of large bolts with matching nuts

2. Show the children how to find the one that matches and then twist them together

3. Encourage children to 'fix' a few toy cars or tractors in your garage

4. Give your child a tour of your car parts on your next visit to the mechanic's shop! It is even more exciting for a child to explore a 'real' car!