Copycat

There isn't a day that goes by when I don't see my boys copying something from their environment; gestures, words, actions, print, the good and the bad!  Children are great copycats.  One thing we often look forward to as parents and teachers are the first scribbles that represent a familiar symbol or figure; such as a few letters, or a circle in the middle of a page with legs, no arms, and two dots for eyes that they feel has a striking resemblance to mommy.

I was excited to see familiar symbols appear on my five year old son's drawings and paintings when he was younger, but I was just as excited to see him copy structures in 3D form with blocks and other objects.

A recent construction, his interpretation of a church. 

As a way to encourage and challenge his building skills I checked out some books from the library that contain many pictures of various structures; castles, skyscrapers, bridges, etc.  The books are being used as an invitation to build, learn more about balance, geometric concepts, and new vocabulary words; like foundation and symmetry.

I plan on offering different types of blocks while we have the books; wooden, Lego, cardboard, and other random materials.  Pictures of local and familiar buildings to children are great prompts and can encourage a child to add more details to their building because of its familiarity.

 

I can't wait to see my son's interpretations of these structures and plan on challenging myself as well.  What kind of structures has your child impressed you with lately?

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