Peek-and-Build Block Twins

A block-design game in which the child studies a small model, then builds its exact twin — first while looking, then from memory.

  1. Give yourself and the child the same set of 5–6 blocks (for example 2 red, 2 blue, 1 yellow). Interlocking bricks or plain cubes both work.
  2. Behind a propped-up book, build a simple 5-block design — a tower with one block sticking out, a bridge, steps.
  3. Lift the screen. The child looks carefully and builds a twin next to it. Check together: “Same colors? Same places? Same way round?”
  4. Now the memory round: build a new design, show it for about 10 seconds (“take a picture with your eyes”), then cover it. The child builds from memory.
  5. Uncover and compare. If something differs, let the child spot it and fix it — “one thing is different; can you find it?”
  6. Swap roles so the child builds a design for you to copy. Make a deliberate mistake now and then for them to catch.

Variation: build from a photo or drawing of a design instead of a real model, or show two designs one after the other to be built in the same order.

Requirements

  • Space: A table top or clear floor space
  • Surface: Flat, stable table or hard floor so blocks do not topple
  • Materials: Two matching sets of 5–10 blocks or interlocking bricks; a book or box lid as a screen
  • Participants: 1 adult + 1 child; two children can set designs for each other
  • Supervision: Light — adult plays as the partner

Rationale & Objective

Copying a block design from a model is a classic measure of visual-perceptual and visual-motor development — it appears in developmental checklists (copying a 5-block design around age 5) and as the Block Design subtest of the WPPSI. The child must analyze the model into parts, hold the spatial relations in mind (on top of, beside, sticking out to the left), and guide the hands to reproduce them. Verdine and colleagues (2014) found that preschoolers’ accuracy at copying block constructions was related to their early mathematics skills. Hiding the model adds visual memory, one of the seven TVPS abilities and the skill a child later uses to copy a word from the board. Having the child check their own twin against the model builds the habit of careful visual comparison rather than relying on an adult to say “right” or “wrong.”

Progress Indicators

  • Early: copies a 3-block tower or row with the model in view; ignores color or orientation; builds something “like” the model rather than a match
  • Developing: copies a 4–5 block design accurately while looking back and forth; from memory gets the overall shape but swaps colors or positions
  • Proficient: copies a 5-block design with correct colors, positions, and orientation; rebuilds a 4–5 block design from memory after a 10-second look
  • Advanced: copies 6–8 block designs with overhangs or mirror-image traps; builds from a photo or drawing; rebuilds two designs in order from memory; finds and fixes own errors unprompted

Safety Notes

  • Small bricks are a choking hazard for children under 3 — keep sets away from younger siblings
  • Pick blocks up off the floor afterward; stepping on bricks hurts and wooden blocks can roll underfoot
  • Emotional caution — a memory game can feel like a test. Treat differences as a puzzle to solve together, never as failures
  • Shorten the design rather than lengthening the look time if the child is struggling
  • If the child reliably confuses positions or cannot copy even a 3-block design by 5½, mention it to the pediatrician or teacher; an occupational therapy assessment can clarify why

Hints

  • Playfulness: you are secret agents copying a top-secret machine before the screen comes down, or robot builders who need two identical robots
  • Sustain interest: take photos of the child’s own designs and keep them as a “blueprint book” to rebuild another day
  • Common mistake: jumping to designs that are too big. Five blocks in three colors is a real challenge at this age — add one block at a time
  • Limited space: play on a tray on the sofa or with bottle tops, coins, and pegs laid flat as a pattern instead of a 3-D build
  • Cross-domain: describe the design in words before building — “blue on top of red, yellow beside it” (spatial language); count blocks per color (numeracy); wait for the screen to lift (self-control)
  • Progression: copy 3 blocks in view → 5 blocks in view → 4–5 from memory → 6–8 blocks → build from a photo → build from a spoken description alone

Sources

  • Verdine, B.N., Golinkoff, R.M., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Newcombe, N.S., Filipowicz, A.T. & Chang, A. (2014). Deconstructing building blocks: Preschoolers’ spatial assembly performance relates to early mathematical skills. Child Development, 85(3), 1062–1076
  • Wechsler, D. (2012). Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (4th ed., WPPSI-IV). Pearson — Block Design subtest
  • Martin, N.A. (2017). Test of Visual Perceptual Skills (4th ed., TVPS-4). Academic Therapy Publications — visual memory and spatial relationships subtests
  • Newcombe, N.S. & Frick, A. (2010). Early education for spatial intelligence: Why, what, and how. Mind, Brain, and Education, 4(3), 102–111
  • Ayres, A.J. (2005). Sensory Integration and the Child (25th anniversary ed.). Western Psychological Services