16 Fun ways to make the most of LEGO
Most of us have some LEGO around the house – perhaps a massive box filled with bricks, or trailed across the carpet just waiting to be painfully stepped on.
LEGO is filled with possibilities, but here are a few new ideas for activities you might not have tried:
LEGO activities for five to seven year-olds
1. Have your kids build a marble maze using LEGO bricks, maybe even set a timer for a greater challenge
(LEGO Marble Maze via Tonya Staab)
2. Turn a few LEGO bricks into a reusable Tic-Tac-Toe board
(LEGO Tic-Tac-Toe via Kids Activities Blog)
3. Make a race track for their toy cars and see whose car reaches the finish line first
(LEGO race track via Frugal fun 4 boys)
4. Build a bird house for the garden – the design can be as simple or complex as they like. This can also encourage an interest in nature.
5. Make learning the times tables more visual and fun with this times tables graph using stacked LEGO pieces
(3D LEGO Multiplication Graph via Frugal fun 4 boys)
6. Learn about symmetry with these beautiful LEGO butterflies
(Learning symmetry with LEGO via Fun at home with kids)
7. Practise sentence building by turning bricks into words – also great for spelling, reading and handwriting
(LEGO sentence building via There’s just one mummy)
8. Use LEGO pieces to create scenes for a story. Imagination Soup used the StoryStarter education kit for this but you can try it yourself with the LEGO you already have, plus a camera.
(The LEGO Education Kit via Imagination soup)
LEGO activities for eight to twelve year-olds
9. Use the bricks for some competitive games like LEGO toss or LEGO Skyscraper
(LEGO family fun via Not Consumed)
10. For a more challenging take on the marble maze above, get them to design a marble run using vertical baseplates
(LEGO marble run via Frugal fun 4 boys)
11. Try a game of LEGO skittles
(LEGO Skittles via Little Bins for little Hands)
12. Using a camera and a few LEGO pieces and characters, get them to create a stop motion animation. This could be a story or a step-by-step construction
13. Over at FrugalFun4Boys are loads of great ideas for using LEGO to teach Science, including this balloon powered car
(LEGO Balloon-powered car challenge via Frugal fun 4 boys)
14. Build a homemade balance scale to explore weight
(LEGO Balancing scales via Frugal fun 4 boys)
15. Practise maths word problems using LEGO bricks for visual, hands-on learning
(Maths with LEGO via Frugal fun 4 boys)
16. Demonstrate fractions using differently sized LEGO pieces
(Using LEGO for Maths via Scholastic)
Has your child grown out of LEGO?
LEGO is a cool retro toy, so even if your child has stopped playing with it, their old pieces can be up-cycled into accessories and decorations they’ll love. With a bit of adult support, they could make a LEGO ring, LEGO necklaces or a LEGO snow globe.