Building Big

I found a cool building toy at a local resale shop for only $4.  Turns out it was really fun!

At first the Bunnies had no idea how to play with these.  There was some sword fighting that was not productive (and dangerous) so Mrs. O'Connor or Mrs. Quinn had to be involved at all times.  We taught them to begin with a square as the base (4 sticks and 4 balls) and from there they could build up and out.

There was a lot of trial and error.  Learning how to get the sticks in the holes of the balls took practice.

Notice the difference from the second picture to the third.  After two days of playing with this toy, the construction became more orderly and purposeful ("Can we get in it?!"  "YES!") 
I suspect when we have this toy again, teachers will still need to be highly involved, but the children will take on more control of the direction of construction.  This is a perfect example of the value of learning through play.