Erickson’s mini block pads for the development of the first attention and concentration skills in children at kindergarten!

THE MINI BLOCK PADS

The mini block pads are workbooks aimed at children aged 3 to 6. They offer educational activities and games designed by educational professionals, which aim to accompany and support the children’s development. 

The WATCH OUT… mini block pad series is designed to practice attention and concentration and is composed of:

1. Watch Out at the Zoo! – 3 years – on attention and concentration
2. Watch Out in the City! – 4 years – on concentration and flexibility
3. Watch Out in the Garden! – 5 years – on attention and logical thinking

Thanks to the practical format (21×15 cm), the mini-pads are the ideal companions both at home and on the road. All the proposed activities are also designed to be carried out independently, thanks to simple and immediate instructions, and are accompanied by playful and amusing images.

Each mini block pad proposes 56 activities, divided in 4 sections which correspond to 4 levels of difficulty:

1. GREEN: Basic level
2. BLUE: Easy level
3. YELLOW: Intermediate level
4. RED: Difficult level

FIND THE MATCHING IMAGE
Trains visual search skills
The child must find and indicate the figure(s) identical to the one at the top center of the page.

REMEMBER THE WAY
Stimulates visual memory and visual-motor coordination
The child must observe and copy the path.
To increase the difficulty, the child can try to memorize the route before tracing it without the help of the example.

MATCHING ITEMS
Works on logical matching of items
The child must connect the figure on the left with the figure on the right which belongs to the same category (animals in the first section, animal food in the second, clothing in the third, modes of transportation in the fourth).

COMPLETE THE PUZZLE
Encourages concentration and relaxation
At the end of each section there are 2 puzzles to cut out. The child will have to put together the 8 puzzles to create a large poster.

Each mini pad of the Watch Out… series provides more and more activities, depending on each specific age group addressed, and the proposed activities come without explanations or instructions.  The initial example page allows the child to understand autonomously, in an intuitive way, the methods of execution. Furthermore, repetition of the exercises instills confidence in the child and increases his/her self-confidence. Finally, the increasing complexity of the exercises allows the child to move from one level to another without experiencing difficulties.

Example of an exercise of increasing difficulty in the 4 sections:

Watch Out at the Zoo!

3 years – on attention and concentration – Find out more

Watch Out in the City

4 years – on concentration and flexibility – Find out more

Watch Out in the Castle!

3 years – on concentration and logical thinking – Find out more

THE AUTHORS

Monica Muratori is an audiometrist and speech therapist. She works at the Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Operating Unit of the ASL of Bologna. She deals with training in the field of autism and stuttering.
Maria Cristina Cutrone is a psychologist and psychotherapist, specialized in childhood neuropsychology. She is a behavior analyst, and works as a psychologist at the ASL in Bologna. She deals with training in the field of autism and SLD.

Take a look at the other mini block pads series by Stefania Mei and Sara Vegini,
for developing prerequisites for primary school:

The little pirates – 3,4,5 years