Unit Bricks are beautiful, fun and will make your kid smarter
"Unit Bricks are terrific tools for facilitating children's developing visual-spatial and geometric skills, as well as numeracy and mathematics. In the process of playing with these building blocks, children gain a better sense of how objects and numbers fit together, exercise their advanced planning skills, and have fun -- all at the same time. I highly recommend Unit Bricks for any child wanting to learn through play!"
Dr. Walter Gilliam PhD. Director, Zigler Center in Child Development, Yale University
Albert Einstein and Architect Frank Lloyd Wright are just two famous champions of brick play, and studies show children that build with bricks outperform, both in the classroom and throughout their lives. Kids benefit from brick play in numerous ways:
- Early math exploration, discovering shapes, sizes and fractions
- Spatial awareness, balance and gravity practiced during brick play
- Hand-eye co-ordination and small and gross motor skills practiced though block manipulation
- Social skills and communication though co-operative play
- Creativity, design and planning via open-ended play
What's different about our Unit Bricks?
Solid and Sustainable
Unit Bricks are made from traditional wood – a natural feelgood material ideal for little hands and developing minds – and 100 per cent sustainable, using every part of the tree from root to tip.
Our Unit Bricks keep to Caroline Pratt’s proven scale, with one standard unit measuring 140 by 70 by 35mm, to fit snug in your child’s hand. We also incorporate hand-carved grooves delineating unit measures, increasing exposure to geometry, measurement, symmetry, fractions and balance - Running fingers along those grooves feels great.
Sets include the full scope of shapes needed for imaginative, realistic construction, including: Units in singles, doubles and quadruples, arches, columns, pillars, triangles, buttresses and ramps. Unit Bricks look like real-world building materials, in natural wood, brick or rocks, and where painted use all natural and organic dyes.
LastingWe made these blocks to be kind to the world today – and tomorrow. Lightweight but incredibly robust, Unit Bricks are an heirloom toy intended to be passed through your family. You’ll feel the difference.
What Ages are Unit Bricks For?
3-4 year olds
- Detail-oriented and will match or group items by shape and colour
- Beginning to exercise imaginations with pretend play
Watch them build: Tall structures, roads, make patterns
Promote play: See who can make the tallest towers. Add animal or people figures to encourage building in creative settings.
5-6 year olds
- Hypothesize about surroundings and test theories in play situations
- Improved cognitive ability allows for a higher degree of logical thinking and intention behind actions
- Take pride in constructions and articulate their ideas to others
- Enjoys building with a partner and used bricks for dramatic play
Watch them build: Symmetrical and elaborate structures using curves and multiple levels.
Promote play: Introduce non-block materials to build with. Ask purpose of building, and which section characters will own.
7-8 year olds
- More comfortable taking risks with hands-on experimentation
- Engages in complex problem solving and communication
- Works in teams to build elaborate constructions and will take pride in the finished project even returning days later to add to it.
Watch them build: Castles, forts and functional buildings. Small settlements if played with friends.
Promote play: Provide extensive blocks for large builds. Set building challenges: “What can you build using just one block as a base?”
Which Unit Brick to choose?
Here is a visual guide of our relative sizes. Mini Unit Bricks for fun table top play or on the go travel sets. Our standard Unit Bricks for play rooms or classroom use. And our maxi Hollow Bricks for building bigger structures. You can build it all within the Unit Brick world.