Children and the world of the play are so united that they cannot be separated. Children learn by playing. Children's activities like playing on the playground or playing games can be useful teaching tools. Teachers can use the act of playing to help educate children beginning at very young ages.

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Playing is important for childhood development because it helps children learn basic skills they will need in life. Children often mimic adults when they play which helps them understand how to behave like grown ups. Educational games, puzzles, and activities are fun and aid students in retaining knowledge. 

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A great example would be examining infants and how they learn to use their bodies. You might see infants squeezing their hands and watching their hands as they move. They may wiggle their bodies to see what happens. By playing with their hands, feet, and other body parts, infants learn how to move and develop motor skills.

Sometimes adults see a child playing and assume that their behavior is a game and nothing more. In reality, children play as a way of learning and developing their minds and bodies. By playing games, using their imaginations, and participating in physical activities children develop their bodies and minds.

There are numerous activities teachers can use to improve the logical intelligence of children ages 4 to 5 years by using playtime as a teaching tool. Below I will share my experiences as a teacher and techniques I used to teach my young students.
<h1><center><hr>How To Improve Children's Intelligence Through Constructive Play Activities<hr></center></h1>

One of the spheres of cognitive development of pre-school age children is thinking logical. The logical sphere of learning is divided into two categories: 1) recognizing patterns in numbers like 1-2-3-4, and 2) the ability to recognize numerical symbols like the numbers 1 through 20.

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From observing 4-5 year old children located in Al-Azhar Lhokseumawe kindergarten I found some interesting behaviors of my students. When learning the pattern of numbers 1-2-3-4, there were significant differences in how well the students completed the task.

* Five of the children could repeat the pattern of  1-2-3-4 very quickly. Eleven of the children would recite 1-2-3-4 in a loud voice with confidence. Ten of the children couldn't recite the pattern of numbers. 
* As soon as the children were taught the pattern of numbers, only six could say the pattern quickly. Eight could say 1-2-3-4 but were not precise and were a bit slower.  
* Ten of the children could say the pattern of numbers in order while six could not keep the numbers in order. 
* When asked to arrange the numbers into a pattern, five could not arrange the pattern. Eight were able to arrange the numbers quickly while the last 10 students completed the task but at a slower pace.

Based on my observations I could tell that a good portion of the class needed help learning to memorize patterns of numbers. In situations like in the class I observed, incorporating play as a tool to teach students patterns of numbers could help greatly. Playing games helps students feel more engaged and lets them have fun while learning material.

Children are more willing to accept play as a teaching method and are receptive to participating. Even though they are playing games, they are absorbing material to gain knowledge through their activity.

One type of play activity that can improve the logical intelligence of children is called constructive play. Constructive play helps to develop a child's imagination through the process of building or making things. Children can use toys like legos to learn class material. Constructive play is hands on activity that won't make children feel bored. Children will feel busy making new things using their legos. Children use their imaginations to build and create new objects which makes learning a fun process with endless possibilities.

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<h1><center><hr>How To Improve Logical-Mathematical Intelligence of Children Using Legos<hr></center></h1>
> According to Saifullah (2004: 30), logical-mathematical intelligence is the ability to use numbers properly and use proper reasoning skills. Mathematical logical intelligence is a child's ability to recognize numbers, mathematical principles, and view patterns using logic.

Legos are a set of toys of made for the purpose of stacking and building. Blocks are made of plastic and come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Blocks attach to one another and can be used to build shapes, buildings, houses, cars, motorcycles, and more. A child can use their imagination and can build almost anything using lego blocks. 
Playing with legos is a form of constructive play. Children actively build something with legos and in the process they can learn educational skills.

## Activities For Playing With Legos
Here are some activities teachers can use for lego play:

1) Have students separate their legos into piles according to shapes, colors, and sizes. This will help them learn the difference between all the legos. They can learn what different colors are. Children can learn to recognize squares, rectangles, and other shapes. They can also learn to just sizes and tell which blocks are big and which are small.
	
2) Assign the children a shape or object to build. They can use their creativity to build whatever they have been assigned. For example: If a teacher tells them to build a car then the children can be creative and use different colors and shapes to make a car.
	
3) Use the legos to teach numbers. A teacher could have the children arrange legos into piles with each pile containing a specific number of blocks. For teaching the pattern 1-2-3-4, students could be asked to make piles with 1-2-3 and 4 blocks in them. 

4) Games can be done individually but also in groups. Teachers can use both group work and individual play to help students learn their lessons.


<h1><center><hr> Conclusion<hr></center></h1>

Based my research, children show improvement in mathematical-logical intelligence by using  constructive play activities such as playing with legos. At younger ages children prefer to play. It helps to improve the intelligence of children by using play as a teaching tool. Playing can help children recognizing the basic principles of numbers and patterns like 1-2-3-4 or how to count 1 to 20. Legos are great tools for teaching math and numbers With various lego games, children will have more fun learning and will be more engaged in classwork. Having fun while learning is a valuable method for teachers to remember and play as a teaching tool is an effective approach to educating students.

<strong>References: </strong>

Quoted from Saifullah, "Mencerdaskan Anak (Mengoptimalkan Kecerdasan Intelektual, Emosi dan Spiritual Anak)", (Jombang: Lintas Media, 2004), page.30.

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