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About Learning Materials Workshop
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Karen Hewitt
President and Designer
M.S. Ed. in Early Childhood Education,
Bank Street College of Education
B.A. in Art,
Oberlin College
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Constructing Knowledge
The impulse to construct, to take apart, and to build again
is universal among young children. Learning Materials
Workshop supports this active approach to learning with a series
of high-quality block sets that invite children to explore, to
invent, to represent, to redesign, and to test their theories
about their physical and social world, and the world of their
imagination.
The company was founded in 1979 by Karen Hewitt,
an artist, early childhood educator, toy historian, and college
lecturer in art education. Her innovative block designs have won
national recognition and
have proven to be a favorite material for children, teachers,
and parents in the United States and Canada, as well as in Europe,
Japan, China, and Korea.
 Learning
Materials Workshop Blocks are learning tools in the hands of young
children. They are open-ended, yet carefully designed in a
variety of colors, sizes, shapes, and textures that stimulate
and develop perceptual, motor, and language skills; mathematical
thinking; physical knowledge; cooperative problem solving; and
aesthetic awareness. As a result, the blocks are natural assessment
tools. As children use them in a classroom setting, teachers can
observe and assess development in many areas in the early childhood
curriculum.
Children are attracted to the variety
of vibrant colors, natural wood grains, and unusual shapes,
all of which encourage multisensory learning. Because the blocks
are open-ended and can be used in both simple and complex ways,
they are developmentally appropriate for a range of ages and abilities.
Thoughtfully designed in
the USA,
crafted from the finest hardwoods, and finished
with non-toxic materials, the blocks are guaranteed to last through
years of
work and play in early childhood classrooms and in the home.
Replacements are available for lost pieces.
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