lego

Holiday Activities

Build Mom Some Mother’s Day Lego Flowers and Other Ideas

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Kids like to make something special for their moms and here’s a suggestion for one to build—Mother’s Day Lego flowers. Made by hand with lots of love.

Mother's Day Lego flowers
Flower Handmade Made by Izzy – Proud Photo by Mom NN

A friend’s son made this for her, which she treated like any other flower and put in a vase. Without the water, of course. This flower means more to her than a dozen of the most expensive roses. What a sweet idea that he came up with all by himself and then made. Making something himself that was so appreciated boasts his self-esteem and strengthens the bond between them. It quite likely even made up for times when his mom accidentally stepped on piece and experienced that sharp pain unique to Lego and Duplo that parents and caregivers can remember forever.

Not only was this flower imaginative, it was also engineered. Kids may want to make a flower for mom out of paper, play dough, recycled or other materials. The paper one in this photo is 3 different flower shapes on various colors of paper all stacked together. Fold a pipe cleaner in half and make two tiny holes in the center. Kids can poke the pipe cleaner in the two holes in the center and twist together for a stem.Mother's Day flower craft

If kids would like to try making Duplo flowers, an easy one is a tulip, with step-by-step instructions and images. This one I might even be able to manage.

Duplo-flower-DIYsummergarten_Mainstage
Photo: Lego.com flower-DIYsummergarden_mainstage

A much more difficult one is a rose, like the one in the video below. This uses the smaller Lego bricks rather than the larger Duplo ones. The smaller Lego needs more motor control to manipulate than the larger Duplo. Check on the internet for more ideas but kids will have their own thoughts on how they want to make one.

Another idea is to make a vase to hold a glass for real flowers. Start with a base and kids add blocks around the edge, leaving a space in the middle. Set a plastic glass inside, add water and flowers. Make sure to pick up the holder by the bottom base for moving it because the water makes the vase heavy!

Whatever kids build, Mother’s Day Lego flowers, or some other creation, it will be a gift from the heart.

Happy Mother’s Day from Mrs. A at 1 2 3 Kindergarten.

 

Play Activities

Play #7: Does Children’s Play Influence Career Choices?

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It’s an interesting question: Does children’s play influence career choices? Or, do interests already present in childhood influence how kids play? Like the chicken or the egg, which comes first?

ways children play-lego

In this series of posts on ways children play, several parents are contributing descriptions of how their child plays. One preschool boy is really into pirates, another loves playing in his kitchen. Jumping on a trampoline both inside and outside is a favorite way to play for another child, and one 2-year old girl is beginning to pretend play, either as the baby or the mommy.

A dad sent in this look at how his son plays, “K usually likes to play by himself. He loves Lego and anything related to cars or monster trucks. Occasionally, he will play with pillows, kitchen tools or make stuff out of the recycle bin.”

K’s dad isn’t an architect, but he does have lots of building projects, like furniture, home renovations, and play structures in the backyard. It’s no surprise that K likes “making stuff” too.

Many kids all over the world, girls as well as boys, love to play with Lego. According to an article on the Lego site, “99% of architects played with LEGO bricks.” (More Than Child’s Play: Favorite Toys Can Provide Clues to Future Career Choice)

Jeremy Pelletier is an architect and he didn’t just play with Lego as a child, he still plays with it now. On a recent television interview, he confessed that the estimate of a quarter million bricks is low. There could be double that now. He says that Lego was one of his favorite toys and “probably, one of the reasons that I’m an architect today.” He hopes that his kids will also love Lego, but he’ll be okay if they don’t.

Building and construction toys encourage both logical thinking and creativity. Although some kids will play with blocks and Lego more than others, they are great toys for all kids. How they play may give some clues to answer the question: does children’s play influence career choices? Does your child play with building and construction toys?

Play Activities

Lego and Blocks Star Play

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Even if kids haven’t seen the movie, Star Wars shows up in their play. For a play-of-the-day, young kids might like some Lego and blocks star play. Children do not need to have the special kits and other toys to have fun. We can let them play with what they have available. Imaginations will often figure out substitutes.

lego star playConstruction toys are definitely hands-on, but brains are as busy as hands. We don’t have Superman’s x-ray vision but if we could see the activity in the brain we’d notice that kids are making a tremendous number of neural connections. Both brains and hands are needed to stack, balance, and make rows and lines. Children may have a picture in their memory banks of how space vehicles look and try to recreate them. This will involve a lot of trying and comparing what they have constructed to what they remember or visualize. Unlike Yoda’s words, “There is no try,” kids will try constantly. Hands, brains, and eyes are all trying to coordinate their actions.

As grownups, we often try and see if something will fit in a space. For kids, spatial awareness and manipulation develops from the trying. This is also called play and kids will explore where blocks and toys will go. Eyes can measure a space but only trying will confirm if something fits or not. Matching sizes and shapes are skills needed for math and science, even if Yoda says, “Size matters not.”

block and construction playBrains are also organizing, planning, and solving problems when kids play with blocks, Lego, and other construction materials. These are critical skills for all kinds of learning. Besides construction toys, there may be some out-of-this- world treasures in the recycling or craft junk, such as plastic containers, cereal boxes, etc. Imagining and creating are the heart of innovation.

Lego and blocks star play appeals to kids of various ages, both boys and girls. Although we can’t see how active it is during play, wouldn’t you agree with Yoda, “Truly wonderful the mind of a child is?”

 

 

 

Art Music Drama

Art Play with Blocks and Construction Toys

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Can Kids Do Art with Blocks and Toys? Paper and crayons or paint aren’t the only way for kids to make art; art play with blocks and construction toys happens even when adults don’t notice. Kids themselves may discover that they have created wonderful art as they play with blocks, Lego, and other construction toys. … Continue reading Art Play with Blocks and Construction Toys →