What other toy can you think of that teaches children physics, logic, engineering, problem solving, math, creativity, and a host of other subjects all in one lovely playable box of toys? The Danish creation, Lego. Legos have been around since their invention in the late 1940s by Kirk Christiansen. Since then, they have been sent all over the world, where boys and girls (and men and women!) LOVE to build things with these little brightly colored plastic bricks.
The great thing about Legos, is that they are visual and tactile. In many classrooms throughout the US, schoolchildren are asked to imagine these abstract concepts in math, when math was originally a problem solving solution in a tactile world! Math was for figuring things out when building, or creating musical instruments, organizing elements and shapes. Some children do well with the abstract, but most children have an easier time and faster time grasping new concepts when they can be hands on and actually SEE what the teacher is talking about.
Enter, the Lego. We are going to link to a few sites that have come up with great learning projects you can do with Legos.
“This Lego activity is a great way to introduce the concept of multiplication to 2nd and 3rd graders in a very hands-on way. Math doesn’t feel like work when you’re building with Legos! And the best part of this activity is that you are actually introducing your child to grouping, multiplication, division, and the commutative property all at the same time.” Click here to see the entire page.
Looking for younger aged activities? See the below link.
“It may seem hard for us adults to remember, but number awareness and correspondence is sometimes a hard concept for preschoolers to grasp. They may be able to easily count to ten, but may not quite understand that the number 10 is equal to a pile of 10 Cheerios. [Lego] blocks will help with that matching concept.” Click here to see this project
Legos can be used to teach much more than just math and science. How about creative writing? Here is a link to a free printable that encourages children to quickly build something out of 100 Lego pieces, then write about what they have created. Description, step-by-step, what the creation could be used for, all of these concepts will inspire creative writing in your child. Click here.
Do you have a Lego maniac on your hands? During the summer there are actual Lego building summer camps and classes where kids spend an entire week or weekend building with Legos and sharing with other Lego lovers. Creating a Lego exhibit for the local fair is becoming quite popular as well.
Have you seen the Lego movie? Or visited Legoland in California? So many Lego things to do!
There is even a company called Pleygo that ships you new Lego sets every month for your kids to build. You pack them back in the box and send them back when done, and a new set comes.
What else can you do with Legos? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Here are the few Things to do with kids in Los Angeles.
For more info visit below link.
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