Block Measuring

In this activity, your child will use interlocking blocks to begin to understand measurement and compare how long or tall common household objects are.

Learning Area(s): Math

MATERIALS

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• Lego® or Duplo® blocks, or other interlocking blocks of the same size
• Household items of different heights to be measured
• Piece of paper
• Marker

LET'S PLAY

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Talk with your child about the idea of measuring. You can explain that measuring is a way of figuring out how tall, long, or big something is. Your child has probably been measured at the doctor’s office. Sometimes we use a ruler or a tape measure to measure things, but we can use other things too, like Duplo® blocks! The important thing is that all the Duplo® (or Lego®) blocks you use for measuring have to be the same size. Together, you are going to use the blocks to measure the height or length of different objects in your home.

Let your child help you find about five things in the house to measure. They could be different sized toys, decorative items, kitchen items, etc. Gather together the household objects to be measured.

Beginning with the first object, use the Lego® or Duplo® blocks to determine how tall it is by snapping the blocks together to the exact height of the object. Together, count how many blocks it takes to match the height of the item from bottom to top. If measuring the length or how long an object is, line up the Duplo® or Lego® blocks end-to-end along the length of the object.

As your child is measuring each object, you can ask your child to predict: “Will this be taller or shorter than the last object?” Then count the blocks. You can ask, “Which object used more blocks?” and “Which one used fewer blocks?” or “Which of these objects is the tallest? The shortest?” Using the paper and marker, make a simple chart with a drawing of each item in the left column and record the number of blocks used to measure it in the right column. Together, you can look at the chart and compare measurements of the items.