Unit block

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Wooden unit blocks in a wagon.
Wooden unit blocks in a wagon.

A unit block is a type of standardized wooden toy block for children. Known also as standard unit blocks or Kindergarten blocks, these building blocks are common in preschools and some Kindergarten classrooms in the United States.

Contents

[edit] Sizes

A unit block is 5.5 inches long, 2.75 inches wide, and 1.375 inches thick[1]. Larger pieces include the double (11 inches long) and quadruple (22 inches long) sizes. Smaller sizes are made in various fractions of the standard unit.

[edit] History

The unit block principle was developed by educator Caroline Pratt in the first half of the 1900's[2]. Pratt founded the City and Country School in 1914 in New York[3].

[edit] Wood

Unit blocks vary in price according to the wood used and the manufacturer. Maple blocks (the original wood put forth by Pratt) are more expensive than birch or beech[4].

[edit] References

  1. ^ Unit Block Sizes and Shapes, All aBout Children’s wooden blocks
  2. ^ Old Fashioned Blocks - Unit Blocks
  3. ^ City and Country School Mission/Philosophy
  4. ^ for example, see Barclay's Quality Issues of Children's Blocks