The Art Of Block Building, by Harriet Merrill Johnson, was published in 1933. Johnson’s early block play observations influenced later researchers. According to Jeroen Starling and Jerry Aldridge:
Johnson should be credited for teaching early childhood educators that the “focus on blocks and block building [is] part of a more encompassing concern with providing a physical environment geared to the child‟s state of development and optimized to promote intellectual and social growth” (Franklin, 2000, p. 52).
From Nursing to Nursery School: The Life and Works of Harriet M. Johnson from 1900-19341
The Art Of Block Building is currently in the public domain. We’ve provided a PDF version below made from a scan of the book. Please note that there are some imperfections in the illustrations due to the scanning process and age of the original document.
Author
Jeff Johnson is an early learning trainer, podcaster, and author and the founder of Explorations Early Learning and Playvolution HQ.
Notes
- Staring, Jeroen & Aldridge, Jerry. (2015). From Nursing to Nursery School: The Life and Works of Harriet M. Johnson from 1900-1934. SSRN Electronic Journal. 4. 10.2139/ssrn.3399359.
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