International STEM Day Brings New Focus to Block Play and Spatial Skills

New research links block play with spatial development as Archway Academy shows how blocks, simple tools, and everyday classroom materials can introduce hands-on STEAM before kindergarten.

Ahead of International Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Day on November 8, new research is adding evidence to the evidence linking block play, a familiar part of preschool education, to children's spatial development. A 2026 study examined unstructured play with wooden unit blocks among 110 preschoolers. Researchers found a significant association between the way children arranged the blocks and their performance on tests measuring how well they understood shapes, position, and spatial relationships. Children with stronger spatial skills also built larger, more elaborate structures. Researchers suggested that giving children opportunities to tackle more challenging projects may help further develop those abilities.

Adding the arts to STEM creates STEAM, an approach that incorporates creative expression into the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics framework. At Archway Academy, a South Carolina early childhood education provider with more than four decades of experience, preschoolers explore these concepts through activities such as building towers, testing which objects sink or float, and investigating how plants grow. "For a three- or four-year-old, STEAM should feel hands-on, engaging, and driven by their natural curiosity," said Tami Nix, president of Archway Academy. "We want children testing ideas and discovering solutions at a level that makes sense for their age."

Preschool STEAM Starts with Materials Children Can Test and Change

In a 2025 randomized controlled trial involving 242 preschoolers from low-income families, researchers compared free block play, semi-structured block play, and usual classroom activities. The study reported stronger outcomes in geometry and behavioral regulation for children assigned to free block play compared with usual classroom practice.

Nix said preschool technology shouldn't rely on electronic devices or screens. Archway Academy's four-year-old curriculum, for example, includes a coding mat that children use to direct a character forward, backward, left, or right. "Technology at this age can be a simple tool," Nix said. "A magnifying glass, a ramp, or a coding mat."

Art gives children another way to plan, represent, and revise an idea. A child might sketch a bridge before building it, use different materials to create an interpretation of an animal, or bring music and movement into the activity. In each case, the child makes choices and can adjust the idea as the work develops. "The arts help children understand that there is not always one correct answer," Nix said.

Teachers Need to Know When to Step Back

During block play, the teacher's role is to create the environment, provide materials, and observe how children approach the challenge. Instead of explaining exactly how to build a tower, an educator might ask what could happen if the larger blocks were placed at the bottom or which block could complete a pattern.

Nix said that balance depends on knowing the child and understanding their needs and responses. Teachers can listen to children's conversations and watch for signs that they are becoming frustrated, losing interest, or need a new material or question. That allows them to step in when support is needed while preserving room for the child to experiment.

When a project collapses, teachers can encourage children to consider what happened. Was the tower too tall? Would a wider base or different block make it more stable? Those conversations introduce cause and effect, problem-solving, perseverance, and the idea that an unsuccessful first attempt still provides useful information. "Children can evaluate what happened and try again," Nix said. "We want them to understand that a mistake is a natural part of learning."

Parents Can Look for Evidence of Thinking

Nix said parents can look for STEAM in the decisions children make during ordinary activities. In one classroom, children explored size by arranging themselves from shortest to tallest and sorting books from smallest to largest. The activity let them work with measurement and comparison using people and objects they could see directly.

A strong STEAM curriculum should help children show their thinking in different ways. When every child is expected to follow the same steps toward the same finished product, it can be harder to see the experimentation and decision-making that are central to STEAM learning.

From block building to measurement and experimentation, these experiences show how everyday play can turn into opportunities for problem-solving. For families evaluating a preschool, the clearest signs of meaningful STEAM may be visible in the classroom itself. "Parents should look for children who are actively engaged, appropriate learning materials, and teachers working with children at their level," Nix said. "They should be able to see evidence of learning throughout the classroom."

About Archway Academy

When Tami Nix had the opportunity to acquire a small childcare business in 1985, she saw the foundation for something more than traditional daycare. More than 40 years later, Archway Academy has grown into a multi-site South Carolina early childhood education organization serving children from infancy through four-year-old kindergarten (4K), along with after-school and summer programs. Archway Academy's approach focuses on preparing the whole child through hands-on learning, trained teachers, parent involvement, and age-appropriate experiences that support children socially, emotionally, physically, and academically. Its newest campus in Greenville extends that approach across approximately 4.5 acres of park-like outdoor space. For more information, visit Archway Academy.

References

• Gold, Z. S., Perlman, J., Howe, N., & Byrd, N. S. (2026). Block play supports children's informal and formal spatial skills. Cognitive Development, 79, 101740. doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2026.101740
• Schmitt, S. A., Purpura, D. J., Duncan, R. J., Bryant, L., Zehner, T. M., Devlin, B. L., Geer, E. A., & Paes, T. A. (2025). Testing block play as an effective mechanism for promoting early math, executive function, and spatial skills in preschoolers from low-income backgrounds. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 71, 163–173. doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2024.12.011
• STEM.org. (n.d.). International STEM Day & STEM Week. Retrieved October 20, 2026. stem.org/stem-day/

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SOURCE Archway Academy