Friday, December 27, 2013
Friday, December 13, 2013
Monday, July 8, 2013
The *Actual* Girl LEGO
Jason Coleman says, "She does like the Lego Friends (aka, the 'girl' Lego), but she also just likes building random, crazy vehicles & buildings out of any Lego bricks at her disposal (aka, the *actual* girl Lego)."
And that is the point -- the Friends sets are a way to get LEGO bricks to more girls, who then will have more LEGO bricks at their disposal, so that they can make any of the crazy vehicles and random buildings that their heart and creativity desire. By all means, build the original sets, but don't stop there: use the pieces to build all manner of wonderful things, crazy contraptions, marvelous mosaics, or whatever catches your fancy. If you're anything like my 6-yr old daughter, it will probably turn into some sort of mechanized horsey-wash conveyor belt with automated drying, or something like that.... ;-)
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Bronwyn's own creation!
"I can do it, Daddy!" This is what Bronwyn said as she was building her own creation with LEGO Friends bricks, after the original set designs were taken apart.
Building while following detailed instructions helps kids with comprehension, staying on-task and other skills. Free-building, while using mental concepts which must be transferred using spatial visualization, develops additional skills.
Learning the multitude of angle placement possibilities for the various bricks which come in these sets is where the true brain-power comes into play. Contrary to what some casual LEGO commenters say about the sets having only one way to be assembled, polygons have endless possibilities of combinations. It takes imagination. It requires visualization.
Blending the various bricks from more than one Friends set is a great way to further extend the creative outcome. Just as she did with her own version of a house. This process of building is what's called a MOC (My Own Creation) in LEGO fan/builder's lingo.
No matter which aspect of LEGO Friends attracts girls into construction play -- whether it's the new colors, such as Azure Blue, Lavender, cute animals, new figures, or the 10% of pink elements in each set -- connecting brick-to-brick is what matters. It matters because girls need a foundation in engineering too. A LEGO base-plate can be that foundation.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Sisters build / play LEGO Friends together!
photo by Tammy
My girls playing with the Lego they received for Christmas. It's a fairly new product called Lego Friends for girls. They are playing with Olivia's House, which my soon-to-be 9 year old painstakingly put together on her own.
Sisters playing together must be cliche somehow?
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Monday, March 25, 2013
Girl builds & re-builds Heartlake City!
A 7-year-old girl builds her own Heartlake City. Then, depending on the Season, or events in her life, such as family vacations or specific Holidays, she re-builds it to represent a place in real life where her family had a fun time!
Using inspiration from some Friends sets -- yet expanded into her own Heartlake City version -- you can see additional houses and horse barns.
An up-close view of a house of her own design -- the possibilities are endless!
A view down the street in her Heartlake City. It's looks busy & fun. Oh, and I spy a Haunted House over there too.
Blending bricks, sets, themes, figures, styles, and colors are just part of the imagination used in constructing a play scene. Using spatial skills to visualize how her City may look on any given day is an educational benefit she and her younger sister are enjoying. Those are skills for life!
To learn more about how her parents designed a build area for her, visit this set on Flickr.
Then imagine what your Heartlake City can be!
Friday, March 8, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Technology at her finger tips building LEGO Friends!
Even with lost instructions, they can be found on the Internet at LEGO.com, which is very handy!
Gebruiksaanwijzing van LEGO Friends kwijt. Gewoon te vinden op het net. Heel handig!
photo by Georgette Matthijssen
