How LEGOs Help your Children Learn

Here at Creative QT we LOVE building bricks! We think that they are one of the greatest educational toys of all time! Not just because they are so much fun, but also because they help to develop some key skills in kids that support their learning and development.

Giving those little hands a workout...

When children play with building bricks they are constantly working their fingers. As they play, they are learning how to manipulate small objects which gives all of their hand muscles a really good workout. These skills are referred to as fine motor skills. These skills are needed as children grow up for key tasks such as holding a pencil correctly when writing.

Letting imaginations run wild...

We actually think that this is one of the most important elements that building brick play develops. Creativity and imagination cannot be learnt by sitting in a classroom being lectured by a teacher. They must be learnt through hands on experiences where the child is encouraged to express their personality and thoughts through creations. We are constantly amazed at what our kids build with a tiny pile of LEGOs in front of them. What impresses us even more is the amount of role play and dialogue that follows the building time.

Learning to be part of a team...

Playing with LEGOS can be as much about developing social skills as it is about improving engineering skills. When you are playing with the same material in a group there is a need for collaboration. With this also comes the requirement for communication. Talking with your friends about which bricks you need, or how you are going to use them, for example. All of these conversations are helping children to develop literacy and communication skills. Working on shared building projects is also a great way to encourage children to be a team player, with them needing to be patient and considerate of others.

It's good to make mistakes...

Building bricks are such an open-ended toy. When you stick two bricks together the result is not a permanent structure. It is a structure that can be taken apart and reassembled in different ways over and over again. For children to make mistakes and know how to move forward past them is so healthy. I'm sure as parents we have all experienced massive kid meltdowns after their building brick masterpiece that they spent all day building has fallen off the table and smashed to smithereens. Learning how to deal with their emotions is not easy for kids. Facing situations like this where they have to overcome the crisis stage and then refocus on the building task, is a very positive experience for them to learn from.

Persistence is rewarded with master builds...

Children are able to see that when they put the effort into a task, they will be rewarded with the tangible outcome of a building brick creation. As they get more confident with the toy, they are able to attempt more challenging builds. Sure at times they will want to give up or ask Mom and Dad to finish the project for them. But it is so worthwhile to get your kids to see their projects through to the end. Wait until you see the proud look on their face as they show off their creation to you!

STEAM skills galore...

Something that us adults love about building bricks is that we are able to use it as a learning material in all areas of the STEAM approach to education. This means we can use it in Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics based activities. There's not many other toys that could tick all of those boxes!

If you haven't got any building bricks for your kids yet, we really hope you are convinced that they are quite simply amazing for supporting learning in children! If you already have some, we hope you are using them to their maximum potential to help your children develop! Head to the blog menu and click on the "All Things LEGO" menu tag to see some great examples of how building bricks support learning.

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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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