Chapter V – Learning Measurement Through Play with KORBO Blocks

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In preschool education, it is extremely important for children to learn through action and direct experience. One area that develops particularly well through hands-on activities is the ability to make measurements, including length, height, and distance.

Preschool children do not yet use formal units of measurement. Instead, they learn to compare objects and assess concepts such as “more,” “less,” “longer,” and “shorter.” KORBO blocks are an excellent tool for this type of activity. They have a consistent shape and size, are colorful, and encourage experimentation. Thanks to them, children can explore the basics of measurement in a natural and intuitive way.

The activities included in this chapter allow children, among other things, to:

  • compare the lengths and heights of constructions,

  • measure objects using blocks as informal units,

  • estimate and check measurement results,

  • understand the concept of distance in the context of their own experiences.

Through engaging play, children not only develop mathematical skills, but also learn precision, attentiveness, and logical thinking. By introducing measurement through play, we build a foundation for future understanding of mathematical and scientific concepts.

Activity 1: “Build One as Long as…”

Educational Objective: Comparing Lengths

Materials:

  • KORBO blocks, especially straight connectors and cylinders

Procedure:

  1. Divide the children into small groups.

  2. Assign each group one dimension (for example, “the width of the table” or “the height of a chair”).

  3. The children build a “measuring tool” from the blocks (connecting a cylinder, a straight connector, a cylinder, etc.) that matches the length of the given dimension.

  4. The children compare the results: which measuring tool is the longest and which is the shortest?

Variant:
The completed measuring tools can be counted and compared using other informal units, such as shoe lengths or arm spans.

Activity 2: “Block Snake”

Educational Objective: Measuring Length Using an Informal Unit (a Block)

Materials:
KORBO blocks, strings of different lengths or paper tape laid on the floor in various lengths

Procedure:

  1. Children place blocks one after another along the string to check its length.

  2. They count how many “blocks” long the string is.

Variant:
Using blocks, children can also measure the distance from a table to the door.

Photo / Class Challenge Idea:
Document and compare the results of different measurements.

Activity 3: “Which One Is Taller?”

Educational Objective: Comparing the Heights of Constructions

Materials:
KORBO blocks

Procedure:

  1. Each child builds a construction using a specified number of blocks.

  2. The children compare the heights and arrange the towers from the shortest to the tallest.

Variant:
Children choose the number of blocks themselves and then compare the results.

Activity 4: “How Many Blocks Are Needed?”

Educational Objective: Estimating and Checking

Materials:
KORBO blocks, objects to be measured (for example, a cabinet, a door, a chair)

Procedure:

  1. In groups, children guess how many cylinders are needed to build a tower, connected with connectors, to reach the height of an object such as a chair.

  2. They then check their guesses by building the tower.

Variants:

  • Children guess in pairs and compare who was closer.

  • Children estimate how tall a tower needs to be to touch a door frame or the ceiling.

Photo Challenge Idea:
Capture and compare the estimation results.

Activity 5: “Measuring Movement”

Educational Objective: Observing and Measuring Change in Position

Materials:
KORBO blocks with gears, platforms

Procedure:

  1. Children build a line of gears and mark where the movement begins.

  2. After starting the mechanism, the children observe how far the movement “travels.”

  3. They measure how many gears the energy passes through.

Variant:
Comparing two lines: which one transfers the movement farther?

Activity 6: “Who Can Reach Farther?”

Educational Objective: Estimating Distance and Comparing Reach

Materials:

  • Korbo straight connectors and cross connectors

  • Korbo cylinders

Procedure:

  1. Children build a “stick” from the blocks and try to make it reach as far as possible (for example, from the edge of a table) without “breaking.”

  2. They measure the length of the arm by counting the number of blocks.

  3. They compare which arm reaches the farthest.

Variant:
Children build the longest stick together, holding it cooperatively so that it does not break.

Class Photo Idea:
Capture the longest cooperative construction.

Activity 7: “Measuring a Path”

Educational Objective: Measuring the Length of a Path

Materials:

  • KORBO blocks

  • Painter’s tape or string arranged in a line

Procedure:

  1. Create a winding path on the floor.

  2. Children place blocks alongside the path to measure its length.

  3. They count the blocks needed to cover the route.

  4. Children may jump along the path with both feet or on one foot.

Variant:
Children independently create the path on the floor in groups and place blocks along it.

Activity 8: “Block Weight”

Educational Objective: Introduction to the Concept of Mass and Comparing “Weight”

Materials:

  • A set of Korbo blocks shared by all children (for example, spread out on the floor)

  • String and a hanger to build a scale

  • Korbo platforms to serve as the “pans” of the scale

Preparation:

  • Thread two longer strings across a platform from both sides, tie them together at the top (joining all four ends), and attach them to a hanger. In this way, you create a simple balance scale.

Procedure:

  1. Children compare the mass of two sets of blocks, for example, 3 gear wheels and 5 gear wheels.

  2. They observe which set is heavier and think about why.

Variant:
Trying to balance two sets with different numbers of blocks (for example, if we have three gear wheels, how many cylinders do we need to place on the other side so that the mass is the same?).

Photo Idea:
Take a photo showing the scale made from platforms and blocks.

Activity 9: “Block Meter”

Educational Objective: Creating a Custom Unit of Measurement

Materials:

  • Korbo cylinders and connectors

Procedure:

  1. The children decide that 5 cylinders connected with connectors will be their unit of measurement (they can name it however they like, for example, a “five-block”).

  2. Using this “five-block,” they measure the length of various objects.

  3. They count and say, for example: “The height of the chair is four five-blocks.”

Variant:
Children create two units of measurement (for example, a “five-block” and an “eight-block”) and use them to compare the dimensions of different objects.

Activity 10: “Measuring Steps”

Educational Objective: Understanding Distance and the Number of Steps as a Measure

Materials:

  • KORBO blocks used as markers for starting and ending points

Procedure:

  1. The teacher asks the children to build simple constructions from KORBO blocks that will serve as markers.

  2. Next, the children work in pairs and place their markers in different locations around the room.

  3. The task is to walk from one marker to the other while counting steps at the same time.

  4. At the marker, the child places a number of blocks equal to the number of steps taken.

  5. The second child walks from the other marker to the first one, also counting steps and taking the same number of blocks.

  6. The children compare the number of blocks and then check how the number changes when they take bigger or smaller steps.

Variant:
Instead of steps, children can make jumps with both feet or hop on one foot.

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