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Overview
These wooden blocks, known as unit blocks, were in use at the Ngahina Kindergarten in Paraparaumu between 1970 and 2012.
The dents and worn edges on these blocks represent many years of play by the thousands of children that have been educated at the Ngahina Kindergarten. They were regularly scrubbed and oiled by kindergarten teachers to keep them in great condition.
Unit blocks have been played with in kindergartens throughout New Zealand since the 1940s.
They were introduced by early childhood educator Gwen Somerset after she discovered their use at a pre-school education centre in New York in 1937. Somerset measured blocks designed by American Caroline Pratt and had them made up in New Zealand.
Blocks have been considered to be an essential educational tool for young children since the early twentieth century. They enable physical activity as well as creative play. Children can learn about shape, size, scale, community interdependence and aesthetics. Blocks enable children to learn about some of the basic principles of mathematics, but they also allow self-expression and can be a medium for the communication of feelings.