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)
Love this idea. I never really understood how the Legos connected to writing but I love the creative juices that this would get started! :)
Wow, what a great way to teach this and fun at the same time. I would live to win this giveaway :0)
I have 3 boys + a husband who all enjoy LEGO. We don't have any of the education sets so I'd be thrilled to pieces (har har) if our family won the set!
We have been incorporating drawing into our curriculum to incorporate a meaningful sensory experience as a pre-writing activity. LEGOs are a visual representation of ideas/characters/events we have been discussing and that our little girl has been thinking about, so it's the perfect bridge between abstract and concrete for us-- and probably also other learners who have difficulty visualizing and writing about abstract concepts.
We could use this set to build scenes from what we're studying.
Probably to build medieval architecture, since we are studying it this year. ;)
My son has become so very involved with LEGO. He went from following the directions very carefully to build something, to figuring out how to build cool stuff on his own.
My son is so into legos, love the idea of using them for storytelling!
The Guide and Activity Pack would be incredible resources for my seventh grader. He is a LEGO-maniac and LOVES to build, create, and tell all the stories; having a guide to help incorporate literature and other facets of our homeschool subjects would be helpful to both of us!
My children learn so much with Lego. We use the pieces in math, story-telling, public speaking, and the occasional friendly competition for creativity. They are also involved in the local 4-H Lego club. So much fun, and so much learning along the way!
My boys LOVE Legos. Thank you for all the Lego-learning activities you post!
My daughter has just discovered legos and the many things she can make with them!
I always struggle with getting my son (age 9) to engage in reading comprehension questions and discussion. He loves Legos and this would be such fun for him, to learn without realizing he's doing so!
This looks amazing! We're just getting started on Legos, and it amazes me how much can be learned with them!
I would hope it would do a duel purpose of getting them to think about the corrector and then how they were in the story along with dictating with expression...
This would be an amazing complement to our Book Club! My Lego lovers would thoroughly enjoy adding this to their book studies.
I have several Lego builders in my home...I think this would be a great way to help them express what they find difficult to write. Thanks for the giveaway.
Were our family to win, I would look forward to building not just scenes out of the stories we're reading together-- but also exploring character development more in-depth than we have in the past. "Why is his car/hat/vest green? Is it his favorite color, or does it remind him or something? What does it remind him of? What does it remind you of?" We take every opportunity we can to help our homeschooler make those sorts of connections.
We homeschool, so obviously it would be a fabulous extra for our learning. My son loves his Legos and already sets up scenes and makes stories to go along with them. This set seems to take that a step further with more direction, and I think he'd love that.
Love the Lego teaching ideas!
Using Legos for learning would be such a cool concept to my 7-year-old!
I have a little one who would love this!
Our 9 yr. old son loves legos! This set would be great for ancient history to build all of the ancient buildings he is fascinated with. Great giveaway!!
My guys already love building stories from their legos, so this would be a great addition.
My daughter loves creating stories, but does better w prompts. I see this set as an excellent way to encourage her creativity!