• Category: Uncategorized
• Published Dated: December 25, 2019
• Written by: Susan

I have always been a supporter of children having Lego to play with, but not because I wanted my children to keep busy and have fun playing, well, maybe a little of that, but for lots of other reasons, and I love and advocate Lego building for all ages.

While I was trying to fall asleep last night, I began mentally listing some reasons that Lego is educational and important for all ages from the youngest of children up through, well even up to older adults! So here is my list so far. If you can think of some others, please contact me, and I’ll include them!

Sorting colors
Color naming
Sorting by size and shape.
Counting pieces or the number of dots on the pieces.
Fine motor skills. Manipulating the pieces onto a Lego board or other Lego pieces.
Matching pieces to the pieces shown in the instruction booklets
Following directions. (Wow, this is a biggie!)

Addition and subtraction. I have 5 tiny black squares, but need 6. How many more do I need?
Learning to multiply. Lego pieces have rows of little dots. One row of 4 dots, or a 1 by 4, is an 4; two rows of 6 dots, or a 2 by 6, is a 12 piece, 4 rows of 4 is a 4 by 4 or 16 piece.
Learning to divide. Just the other day, we had to find 24 tiny clear pieces and stick them together in stacks of 6, yielding 4 stacks of 6. 24 divided by 6 is 4.

Sequencing while following directions. What to do 1st, 2nd, 3rd and so forth. Sequencing helps improve reading and spelling skills too.
Vocabulary such as first, second, last, next to, behind, under, above, taller, shorter, flat, smooth, thin, thick, circular, barrel-shaped, angled, larger, smaller, tiny ….
Spatial relations. Finding the correct locations in which to place each Lego piece. (This includes more counting!)
Figure ground skills. Searching to find a particular piece from a large group of many different pieces. It’s harder than it sounds.
Visual discrimination and sometimes with the more advanced Lego sets, trying to figure out from the instruction booklet exactly which piece is needed and how to place it can be tough.
Tactile challenges. Fitting pieces into place requires using the sense of touch and finger dexterity, and can be a real challenge.

Self-esteem. A feeling of accomplishment as the Lego project progresses and becomes completed. I hear my little granddaughter now using vocabulary words such as awesome and perfect.
Creativity. Choose instead to take Lego pieces and build whatever one’s imagination directs.
Imaginative play and creativity. I often observe children playing with their completed Lego projects, created buildings, vehicles, Lego people and more.
Learning to work cooperatively with others to search for pieces, put Lego sets together, and to play together. My children spent hours with their Lego cities and other Lego themes.

Brain stimulation! At my age, this is one of the main reasons Lego is in our family room and being worked on by us “less young” folks. Yup, including me. I incorporate Lego building into a weekly, if not daily, routine. My husband also benefits from Lego project-building, the first of which we completed together is shown below; we are nearly finished with a Lego Taj Mahal; and received another architecture Lego set for a holiday gift!