Knocking Down Blocks (18-36 months)
Text on screen: Knocking Down Blocks (18-36 months).
Logo: Count, play, explore—for early education.
On screen: Lily Vang, Toddler Educator, speaks from her classroom.
Lily Vang, Toddler Educator: Through our exploration about balls, I decided to bring out some cartons, some wooden blocks, and also foam blocks for the children to explore and see if they could knock it down. I asked the question, “What do we need to do to knock down the following items?"
On screen: A photo is displayed of a child named Rory, rolling a ball down a wooden track that has been set up against a low table to act as a ramp. Then, Rory and another child are shown trying to knock down various items by rolling a ball down a similar ramp structure. Lily observes nearby. On their first try, the ball rolls down the ramp but then falls off the track and rolls away.
Lily: So close. So close.
Rory: So close.
Lily: So close. Let’s try again.
On screen: The children retrieve their balls. Lily adjusts the ramp so the ball will stay on the track.
Rory: I want to do it again.
Lily: Let's try to roll it down the ramp.
On screen: The child rolls his ball down the ramp again. This time it rolls directly down the ramp, stays on the track, and successfully hits the target, knocking down a structure made of four small, empty milk cartons.
Lily: You got it. That's awesome. You knocked down the tower.
On screen: Moments later, Lily and Rory are next to another ramp structure. A block and two empty milk cartons are lined up at the bottom of the ramp. Lily gestures toward the ball’s path as she asks Rory a question.
Lily: When you roll the ball, is it going to stop or is it going to go?
Rory: Go.
Lily: Do you think it will go? Okay, let me see.
On screen: Rory rolls a ball down the ramp. It knocks one of the cartons out of place and then stops rolling.
Rory: Boom.
Lily: Ooh, which one fell down?
On screen: Rory picks up the ball and points at the milk carton.
Rory: It fell over.
Lily: The box fell down?
Rory: Yeah.
Lily: Let's try again. Let's see which one will fall down.
On screen: Lily places the milk carton Rory hit on top of the other and moves them next to the wooden block. Rory rolls the ball down the ramp. This time, it hits the wooden block.
Lily: You knocked down the block.
On screen: Moments later, Lily replaces the wooden block with a larger one.
Lily: Let's try the square one. Okay.
On screen: Rory rolls the ball down the ramp again. It hits the larger wooden block directly, but the block doesn’t move. Rory retrieves the ball.
Rory: It missed.
Lily: It bumped into the square.
On screen: Rory rolls the ball down the ramp, and again, it bounces off the larger wooden block.
Rory: It hit that block.
On screen: Moments later, the ramp has been extended. Now it has an additional stretch of flat track at the bottom. Rory rolls the ball down the longer track. The ball bounces off the wooden block again.
Rory: That one.
On screen: Rory points at the block as he retrieves the ball. Lily touches the larger wooden block.
Lily: You hit the wooden block.
On screen: Rory gets closer to the wooden block and rolls the ball by hand along the track, so it strikes the block with more force. Again, it bounces off without knocking over the block, so he takes the ball and uses it to push the block over manually.
Rory: Block. Boom.
Lily: Boom. You pushed it so it can knock down.
Text on screen: A special thanks to the children, families, and staff of the Office of the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools’ Lighthouse for Children Child Development Center, without whose help these videos would not have been possible.
Logo: Count, play, explore—for early education.