“The Lego Game”

STEAM Topic: Math / Engineering

Whew.  We’ve been busy.  More than just a little bit.  I’m honestly not real sure where the last month went… I so appreciate those of you who have stuck with me through this, and realized that this is just one more way that I’m real.  Sometimes, I just don’t have time to write.  BUT!  I’m slowly coming back.  I’ll have a few posts here and there, and then the goal is to be back to full strength once both kids birthday parties are done.  (Party planning for two parties within two weeks of each other is super fun… and also confusing… and will probably result in multiple blog posts over the course of the next several years…)

But one thing that we picked up around a month ago or so was this game idea for a Lego building game.  I honestly don’t remember where I saw it – somebody shared it on Facebook.  And I didn’t actually take time to read the blog – I just saw the picture and ran with it.  So here’s our version of what Becca has just called “The Lego Game.”

You’ll need:
1 die
6 paper plates
a bunch of random Legos, divided onto the six plates
some flat “starter” pieces on which to build

The beauty of this game is that it evolves as you go.  It just kills me to see kids that HAVE to have a schematic drawing to build with Legos.  Obviously, that requires a certain level of skill, but part of the FUN of Legos is just taking random pieces and seeing what you can make with them!  It’s an important part of creativity that kids need to learn, and should be encouraged to enjoy.  This game definitely does that.

So here’s how it works – once you have your random pieces assigned to the plates, just take turns rolling the die and selecting a piece from that numbered section.  You can build and rebuild your design multiple times throughout the game as it evolves with the new pieces you collect.

We have some super fun accessory pieces that are also included, so you can get (for example) a motorcycle or a piano to add to your design, if you’d like.  There are flags, flowers, and a magic wand as well.  Along with a ton of regular bricks in a variety of colors.

Every time we play the game, I love seeing what Cody and Becca will come up with – and I always make something new, too.  It’s a great way to practice taking turns, and Becca now has the dice memorized and knows immediately how many dots are on it to know which plate to pull her piece from.  For quite a while it was a counting game, but now she’s got those dot patterns committed to memory.

You could extend it by rolling two dice – one die would tell you which plate to select from, the other would tell you how many pieces to draw.  Or put a colored dot on each side, and you’d have to select a brick of that color.  The options are endless!!

We typically set a timer and just play until whenever the timer goes off.  It can be a 5 minute game, a 20 minute game, or a 45 minute game.

We have found that Becca does much better with bedtime if she has a focus activity between dinner and bedtime.  Sometimes she plays games on her Kindle or watches a video on it.  Sometimes we set up marble runs or train tracks.  Other times we’ll do a board game or “The Lego Game.”  She just needs some sort of directed activity to focus her brain on so that she will be able to calm and get ready for bed.  Obviously, every kid is different.  This sort of activity right before bed might make it impossible for your child to sleep.  Thankfully, you know your child, and I know mine.  Hopefully this is a fun activity that you can find an appropriate time to play with your kids!!  Bring out their creativity!  Find the inner engineer inside each of you!

NOTE!  Don’t have a bunch of extra Lego pieces?  Visit your local Lego store and shop their brick wall, or check out the Lego website to purchase some sets of randomness!  (not an affiliate link, but a good link!)