[2] Pratt is known as the founder of City and Country School in the Greenwich Village section of the borough of Manhattan in New York City; the inventor of unit blocks;[3][4][5] and as the author of I Learn from Children (HarperCollins, 1948; rereleased in 1990; republished by Grove Atlantic in May 2014; released as a free audiobook in 2018 through Audible), an autobiographical account of her life and educational experiments, philosophies and practices.

Pratt's specific style of progressive education, focused on first-hand experiences, open-ended materials, and social studies, has been cited and described by figures as noted as John Dewey[6] and the architect and playground designer David Rockwell.

Her formal primary education was conventional,[10] but her experiences of active, independent play with friends in Fayetteville's rural setting were to be more influential in her work.

She was a special instructor in woodworking, training teachers to be proficient in skills such as gauging, squaring, sawing, chiseling, planning and boring, doweling, and chamfering.

[15] Caroline Pratt is featured in the American artist Thomas Hart Benton’s mural America Today in the panel "City Activities with Dance Hall.

[18] In this setting, the children were free to use materials to construct their knowledge about the world, using Pratt's unique designs for hand-made unit blocks.

Unit blocks continue to be used in classrooms and homes the world over,[23] and C&C is well known for its commitment to progressive practices and hosts numerous visitors, researchers, and education experts to the present day.