Elementary Aged Pixel Brick Prompts

Pixel Bricks were pretty new to us this year but it's been so much fun watching as our kids explore them and express their creativity using them. One thing we've noticed is the importance of providing build prompts. In this blog we are sharing three simple build prompts we gave our first grader - all of which he loved!

Let's start with a bit of context. Our builder here is a six-year-old boy so we were sure to carefully consider his passions and interests. Customizing the theme to suit your child's interests is a great way to achieve more engagement in an activity. He was so excited when we discussed build themes and we gave the green light for Minecraft, Pokemon and Star Wars! You could theme your build prompts to anything that your child shows an interest in... vehicles, princesses, Disney Movies and more! 

Our creator was set up with three Grey MagPlates®, a set of Pixel Bricks (which we stored in a Mini SlideAway® to keep them contained), and also some StoryBricks to add the labels at the end.

Star Wars: Create your Own Lightsabers

This challenge really did make our first grader's eyes light up! He is all about lightsabers at the moment and the opportunity to design his own one was pretty awesome!

He got straight to work engineering a sturdy handle and of course the big highlight was then adding the beam of light. He was so into this that he made three unique designs on the MagPlate. We love the double-sided one!

Pokemon: Create your Favorite Character

Do your kids ever take a challenge and run with it in a slightly different direction? Ours too! It can be tempting to redirect them but there are so many benefits to letting the creativity flow. We were hoping our 1st Grader would create an entire character, but he had other plans.

He couldn't wait to build a Pokeball first, before then dramatically just building Pikachu's lighting bolt tail. It was great to see him coming up with his own design ideas and confidently building them.

Minecraft: Craft a Weapon

We are most definitely a little out of the loop on the whole Minecraft thing (anyone else not have a clue?!?!) but our builder knew all the things about this popular game. He got straight to work creating a unique weapon with his Pixel Bricks.

As he carefully placed the Pixel Bricks onto the MagPlate, he was constantly counting and making sure the sword was symmetrical. A great link to numeracy! He did a great job filling his MagPlate with a Diamond Sword.

What a fun building session! There was only one thing left to do... add the StoryBricks to label his build boards. We got out our set and worked together to spell the words for each challenge theme. This was a sneaky link to some literacy work!

It's amazing how providing a small build prompt led to sh much creativity and independent play. He stuck with the challenges and was constantly talking about his creations. So much imagination and care went into each creation. There was also lots of fine motor skill development happening because the Pixel Bricks are so small to manipulate into position.

Do you set your kids themed challenges with building bricks? What are their favorite themes? We can't wait to explore some new ones!

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Creative QT designs quality + innovative toys that declutter homes and inspire creative play. Founded by parents of five, Adam and Dana Sue Hinkle, Creative QT’s vision is to empower parents and encourage a culture of families that Make Time Together. All products are designed to enrich families’ lives through active, creative play and play based learning. Creative QT products are laboratory tested for compliance with CPSC requirements and are free of lead, cadmium and phthalates so you can play with confidence. So, go ahead … today is the day: be your kid’s hero.

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