Building Creativity and Imagination With LEGO - BuildToExpress Giveaway
Wednesday, September 18, 2013 at 5:00AM
LEGO Education® materials have enriched our homeschool in untold ways.
From learning to write stories, to learning about simple and motorized mechanisms and simple machines, it is safe to say that anything from LEGO Education® is a tremendous learning resource!
The most recent resource we have been using, BuildToExpress, is specifically designed to stimulate your child's creative thinking and imagination.
About BuildToExpress
The BuildToExpress product we have been using contains two parts:
- BuildToExpress Core Set The core set contains 200 elements that developers have carefully selected to peak students' interest in creating metaphors and telling stories. The set also comes with a building plate and a convenient storage container.
- BuildToExpress Guide & Activity Pack The guide and activity pack is what truly makes this a unique resource. While designed for classroom use, we have been using it on an individual basis (but I bet it would be FABULOUS for a co-op class, too!). There is a teacher's guide included, as well as a DVD Rom that includes all of the printables for 30 challenge cards and a challenge card creator.
These two resources together allow my son to use these LEGO bricks to think more deeply about literature we are reading, use his creative skills and imagination, and SO MUCH MORE.
Watch this video from LEGO Education® about BuildToExpress. You can also visit this page to read all about BuildToExpress.
*Note: This is done from a classroom perspective - as I have (and will address later) emphasized, this product can easily be adapted for use in your homeschool.
Challenge Cards
The challenge cards contain different cross curricular topics to get your student thinking and creating.
Since we love literature, I chose a literature challenge card set to share with you - and this was also the first activity Grant did with BuildToExpress.
We used The Sword in The Tree (a book Grant just finished), and talked about the book and Grant began to build.
I love how this first card encouraged him to THINK about the main character and other characters in the book.
Grant built this simple scene of Lord Weldon trying to escape the dungeon in Weldon Castle.
We had a great dialogue while he was building.
*I know from also having a seventh grader that these verbal and creative skills will translate into STRONG WRITING in the years to come!
You can see the remaining challenge cards in this activity - and with each one he talked with me more and continued to build. I can see us repeating this process with future books.
Challenge cards 3 and 4 are IMAGINE and CONCLUDE.
There are many more challenge cards that come in the BuildToExpress Activity Guide, and you can even create your own challenge cards.
What We Love about BuildToExpress
I could write a very long list, but I'll just limit this to a few:
- The set comes in a compact box that is easy to store. The pieces are engaging and A LOT can built just from a free build with the 200 elements included.
- The guide and activity pack help me organize an entire LESSON surrounding the LEGO bricks. Grant doesn't even realize we are working on elements of literature, or a science concept. All he knows is LEGO!
- LEGO Education® leaves no stone unturned. They give you MORE THAN ENOUGH direction, challenge cards, and teaching ideas.
- The potential in our homeschool is something I love, but I also love the potential to use this in a co-op or LEGO club setting. It can work well with individuals or groups.
We have just scratched this surface with this resource, and I am SO excited!
Reader Comments (254)
OH WOW - this would be an amazing set for my 8 year old son who LOVES legos!! Everything is done with some type of lego!! Thank you for the awesome giveaway!!
SO many ways! I would definitely use it to build pre-writing skills, but the creativity aspect is right up my alley! Love this!
My son's dislike of reading / writing vanishes when we use Legos as base (usually your ideas:)!). He would love this!
Hello! I am so thankful that you posted this. Today was our first "hard" day of homeschooling. My 7 year old said he needed "more fun" in his day! this would be an excellent way to have educational meaning and fun!
We've been in Lego mania for 7 years and still going strong.
My kids would love this in our homeschool! They need more kinesthetic projects like this rather than so much writing.
I love the idea of how easy it is to sneak in academic learning under the guise of playing with legos.
Oh my! How would we not use this lego kit? This kit has several items that would add to our story telling and scene creation and either way will probably end up under the Christmas tree.
My two kids love LEGOs and I would use this curriculum with our history lessons.
I would definitely utilize this set for homeschooling! My kids are in love with LEGOs.
I have four boys who LOVE LEGO. One of my sons is a struggling learner and would really benefit from something like this. Thanks for the great giveaway!
This looks great. Thanks for the giveaway.
I would love to use this to expand my son's creative thinking. He loves books and he loves Legos.
I love the challenge cards. We try to utilize legos in the classroom whenever we can this would be a great addition.
I would use this set for the times when Zachary needs to refocus and I am doing school with his sisters. As a fill in time. Love it! Thanks Mary and LEGO Education!
I have two boys, 4 and 2, and have been considering homeschooling. Since they both enjoy playing with Legos, this sounds like an awesome resource!
I have been THRILLED to find all of your LEGO resources. Thank you so much for the time you have put into sharing your ideas with us! My family love LEGO, and we are about to begin our second LEGO Club that we organized at our library. This set would definitely be put to good use! Thanks for the giveaway!
My daughter and my son love building with Legos. I could see them using this set for creative story telling and science.
We use a lot of narration with our schooling - having this would change it up a bit and would be the perfect answer for some of the books he's not as naturally captivated by. Thanks!
We already use legos for Math and never thought before to use them for Language Arts. What a wonderful idea! My son is obsessed with the tiny building blocks right now.
I am trying to figure out how to use legos with our curriculum and this would be a great start. This looks like an amazing package.
My boys work off of each other to create bigger and better ideas. You can see their minds turning!
Thank you so much for sharing how LEGOs can be used as part of our homeschooling curriculum. As the mom of 6, I have found it is often difficult to get the boys engaged in their lessons and am always looking for ways to make their learning time fun and exciting. We have been huge LEGO fans for years and years....I don't know why I didn't think of incorporating them into our learning sooner!! This set looks amazing!! Thanks for sharing!
My son loves Legos! His current favorite is his Lego castle since we are learning about the Middle Ages right now.
This would be a great way to entice my son to love school!