Monday, July 14, 2014

Summer Fun 2014 - Lego Set Hide and Seek


As much fun as we had building a Lego model without buying the set, I couldn't resist picking up a few small, 3 in 1 sets for under $5.00 each, as part of one of those Amazon add-on deals.

The small sets don't take long to build on their own, but they're great for using in boredom buster treasure hunts (a fun way to get reluctant readers reading), or for a little Lego hide and seek - a variation on our last activity, in which the pieces are taken from the box, and mixed in with loose blocks of our own...

...for children to sort through and find...


...before they can build the set.  Not only is it a fun game of hide and seek, and a time stretcher, it's also a sneaky way to strengthen children's math skills, as they sort the blocks....



...organizing, and overlooking the clutter of unnecessary pieces (like the extra information in a story problem)...



...to focus in on what they need for the problem at hand.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's tricky....so, of course, I love it :-) A great idea for problem solving!

Phyllis said...

You are so right! I have also found that attention is one of the most important skills a student can have. It is nice how you have incorporated working on it with having fun.

Kristin said...

Hmmm...might need to try this. I already have Legos spread out all over my living room floor so why not sneak some learning and mind stretching into the mix?

Annette Whipple said...

We love LEGOs, too. We began with the small sets. My son can't get enough. He builds all sorts of things from his imagination, too.

claireshomeeducation said...

Another great idea for my son! Keep them coming, Leah!

Sue Elvis said...

I was talking about Lego with my girls the other day. When I was young (in the dark ages!) the most sophisticated Lego pieces were roof tiles and window frames for building houses. There were no castles or other special themed kits. We decided that it's actually better to have basic building blocks and use our own imagination rather than have prepared kits.

I like your idea of hunting for the correct pieces. It doesn't take long for various kits to get mixed together!

MaryAnne said...

This is a great way to stretch a LEGO set! Sounds like you got a great deal on them, too!

Ticia said...

I love the comparison of this to a word problem. I am totally stealing that comparison.