Toys are not only fun to play with but are also important learning aids for kids. Just by watching kids play with toys, child psychologists can tell whether a child is developing physically, mentally, psychologically and socially. One of the most vouched for toys in this regard are the building erector sets.
In manipulating blocks of different shapes and sizes to come up with one coherent structure, children can learn a lot. At the top of the list are fine motor skills, problem-solving ability, mathematical skills, creativity, imagination, and hand-eye/body-limb coordination. So let’s see how building erector sets do all that and much more.
1. Developing Fine Motor Skills
Kids develop their fine motor skills naturally although at different rates. When these skills develop slower than normal, your kids will have problems performing activities that involve using their fingertips. Building erector sets is one proven way to help kids develop their motor skills. As they arrange blocks to create unique objects, kids exercise their thumb and forefinger muscles. Doing that repeatedly improves the coordination between the muscles. In the end, the child’s mastery of dexterity is improved a great deal.
2. Learning Math Skills
Playing with blocks from building erector sets introduces children to advanced math skills. Building requires an understanding of geometry, area, shapes and sizes, equivalents, and patterns. These are all aspects that the kid has to battle with as they build their favourite character in an erector set play. They also have to establish a particular pattern to get the shape they’re looking for. With enough playing, they’ll begin to have an understanding of core math concepts.
3. Boosting Creativity and Imagination
Unlike traditional building blocks that only allowed upright angles, erector sets have connector pieces that allow building angles beyond 90 degrees. Therefore, there are more shapes and structures that children can build. Some of these erector pieces do not come with instructions. These are meant to allow kids to build things conceived in their imagination.
Other sets have pictures of the final product to provide inspiration. The player is supposed to use their own creativity to explore unique ways of arriving at the pictures or something close. This open-ended play allows kids to grow their creativity and imagination.
Most sets also have step-by-step guides and pictures of what the pieces can build. However, kids get the urge to tweak some parts with the help of their creativity. To get any of these erector sets, check the erectors found at Star walk kids Media.
4. Enhancing Problem Solving Skills
As children try to build complex structures, they often face a few problems. For instance, their structures may fall from time to time due to a weak foundation. Such occurrences stimulate them to figure out how to build a solid structure that won’t crumble. Try after try, they’ll test out different patterns to see what works best. This way their ability to find solutions to real-life problems is triggered.
5. Developing Social interaction and Cooperation
There are some erector sets that require kids to work together to bring up a given structure. This helps foster teamwork and cooperation among the kids involved in the play. Since some of the structures take long to build, the kids get enough time to develop camaraderie as well as social skills. These are critical skills that will help them foster productive relationships in both social and work spheres later in life.
It is evident that erector builder sets are not just toys but also important learning tools. Note that they usually come with age recommendation. So make sure that you get your kid one that’s right for their age. This way you can avoid getting your child frustrated.
