My two granddaughters love building with blocks and were delighted to receive a beautiful box of Colorframes wooden blocks designed by Learning Materials Workshop. The set consists of 42 different colored, notched units that interlock. Recommended for ages 3 – 8, they can be used in endless ways to build shapes and to understand different aspects of color.
The girls immediately dove into the blocks to discover how they worked. The 8-year old started by creating a rainbow with the seven brightest colored units. Then she wanted to see if she could make a pastel rainbow using the more muted tones.
The 4-year old just wanted to build the tallest tower she could before it tipped over. Things got a little dicey when they both wanted the same colors at the same time. So I suggested they each pick their favorite colors and just work with those for awhile.
The more they played, the more possibilities they saw. After building several different structures, they began to notice color patterns. I suggested they work together and try putting the blocks in order from light to dark. The box comes with a sheet that explains the concepts of hue, value, and intensity and six exercises for teaching the concepts.
Learning Materials Workshop was founded in 1979 in Vermont by Karen Hewitt. An artist, early childhood educator, and toy historian, Hewitt is president of the company and designs these wonderfully open-ended toys that include over two dozen different building sets.
