Week 2
After our informative class this week, I was intrigued by Alec’s mention of the Brickit app, and Ublock Origin.
- Ublock Origin is a game changer!! Wowzer on my browser! No silly, annoying ads and Youtube is smooth sailing.
- Brickit – Where was this 15 years ago??
So, I have a challenging student in my class this year. He loves lego. This is common between us. I love lego too. Perfect…
I’m a lego Mom.
I actually tried to search for a definition of ‘Lego Mom’, and even went as far as the Urban dictionary (I do not recommend for various reasons), and came up empty handed. The result?
Legomom: an individual who devotes a selfless amount of time to building and creating with offspring, in preparation for: instant destruction, painful tootsies, and hours of bonding.
I could go on and on, but as a legoparent you quickly assume a huge financial commitment as well as organizational duties and storage solutions. I was also a legochild, committed to spending time creating with my brothers. We did not have instructions, which I both loved and hated because it took a ton of effort to try to build something even remotely close to my genius older brother. However, I could build what I wanted in a fraction of the time and cruise on to something else.
I now house 8 tote bins of lego over 20 years of collecting. I will only part with them when my boys have a need or desire to create, or become legoparents. In the meantime I cannot let these tools sit idle. There are many ideas I can incorporate into a classroom/school setting, and this may be the perfect way to build relationships with certain students.
Lego encourages interaction, sharing, creativity, mindfulness, and so much more. I did not realize there are lego therapy clubs, or lego therapy instructors. I think I would LOVE this as a retirement career!
Brickit is a very clever app, especially when those instruction booklets are lost and sets jumbled together. I think I will bring a tub of lego to school and have the students chose their own small bucket of pieces, and I will assist with the app to see what we can build! Students can present findings to the class and parents via Flipgrid or Seesaw.
Lego can also be a fantastic way to teach team work, patience, respect, sharing, and creativity, all while using a different medium in a mindful manner. Intramurals and after school clubs could easily include lego. A lego club would benefit anyone and is an excellent choice for those who do not enjoy or excel at sports, music, etc…
Adult Mindfulness – Now this speaks to me…who knew I could find this type of mindful lego activity! And even better since I’m already a crazy plant lady.
Every fall, our family orders a new Christmas lego set. We still get together and rebuild them every year, although the packing away of lego gets more streamlined and strategic so the building process is easier. Looking forward to this one soon…
I am continually grateful for an activity that is timeless, continually challenging, mindful, youthful, fun, nostalgic, and one that can be used with a fun app – something for everyone! This year in my classroom, I’m anxious to use lego as a connecting tool, a relationship builder, and something that just might inspire that introvert or challenging student.
Does anyone have any other fun lego ideas, or has anyone tried to incorporate lego into a school or classroom setting?
About The Author
Lynnette Farris
Welcome to my blogging journey! I am a leader in education, a Mom, wife, and a learner. I have previously worked with Saskatoon Catholic Schools and I am currently a Vice-Principal with Regina Catholic Schools.
Hi Lynnette!
I like this idea and it sounds like you found something right up your alley. I too was pretty excited to hear about that app. Lego is complicated now with all the extra little pieces that come in kits. Once something is torn apart, without a system, it can be very difficult to rebuild. I like that all the lego that we collected before I developed a more strategic way to organize or display my daughter’s projects may now get put to use again!
I recently heard about a Lego club in two different schools. While I don’t know much about the logistics, I have heard they are a hit!! An innovation or STEM grant might be something to look into.
I am excited to see where you go with this!
Thanks Gillian! Once the project is over in this class I am going to look into beginning a lego club, but I somehow want to target students who have some difficulty with social skills. Working with them specifically to learn how to create as a team would be one goal!