Block Parties examines young children's spatial development through the lens of emergent STEAM thinking. This book explores the physical and psychological tools that children use when they engage in constructive free play, and how these tools contribute to and shape the constructions they produce. Providing readers with the tools and understanding necessary to develop children's spatial sense through the domains of mapping and architecture, this cutting-edge volume lays the groundwork for both cognitive development and early childhood specialists and educators to develop more robust models of STEAM-related curriculum that span the early years through to adolescence.

Daniel Ness is Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at St. John's University, USA.

Block Parties examines young children's spatial development through the lens of emergent STEAM thinking. This book explores the physical and psychological tools that children use when they engage in constructive free play, and how these tools contribute to and shape the constructions they produce. Providing readers with the tools and understanding necessary to develop children's spatial sense through the domains of mapping and architecture, this cutting-edge volume lays the groundwork for both cognitive development and early childhood specialists and educators to develop more robust models of STEAM-related curriculum that span the early years through to adolescence.

1. Discovering STEAM in the Early Years 2. Play Matters 3. Bricks, Blocks, and Planks: Visuo-Spatial Constructive Play Objects (VCPOs) 4. Simple VCPOs Are Best 5. Young Children Think Like Scientists and Mathematicians 6. Young Children Think Like Architects and Engineers 7. Coding Children's Constructions: The SPatial ARchitectural Coding (SPARC) System 8. Promoting STEAM Play with VCPOs: What Young Children Can Tell Us