Lego: More Than Just a Simple Toy

Article by Sonya Wilson, Lego® fan and founder of Bricks 4 Kidz® Vancouver.

Lego is Taking Over Vancouver

Lego® seems to be everywhere in Vancouver these days. From Science World’s “Castle Adventure” exhibit to the opening of the new store at Oakridge Mall, the Danish toy maker has garnered a lot of exposure lately in our community. In the recent past the Lego® phenomenon has been almost exclusively the domain of boys, but with the launch of the new Friends line in January, Lego® is making a concerted effort to appeal to young girls’ sensibilities and play style. Gone are the days of the gender- neutral, traditional building bricks and mini figures. The company’s change in philosophy with their direct marketing to girls has not been without controversy. Some parents are calling on Lego® to discontinue the new line due to what they perceive as perpetuating stereotypical images and gender roles.

Whether you are cheering Lego’s® new Friends line or not, there can be no denying that the original Lego® bricks provide hours of engaging play time (for both boys and girls) that incorporates many benefits for a child’s overall social, intellectual and creative skills. Lego® play develops mathematical, spatial and fine motor skills, and lets kids use their imagination and creativity to build anything they can dream up, leading to hours of collaborative play with friends or quiet, independent play.

Building Social Skills

Playing with Lego® provides social skill development that occurs so naturally when kids are playing with the colorful bricks. Important early life lessons such as teamwork and collaborative problem-solving, sharing, taking turns, verbal and non-verbal communication are all developing naturally as kids are creating everything from space ships and race cars to castles and cityscapes. Parents have commented to me numerous times about collaborative play sparking creativity in their child that would not necessarily have occurred on its own. It’s also a great way for kids and adults to play and create together.

A great tactile toy, building with Lego® improves and develops manual dexterity and fine motor skills. Every time a child reaches for a brightly colored brick or smaller piece and uses it to interlock or connect with another, she is working on her motor skills and hand eye coordination. With the larger pieces of Duplo® there are sizes of blocks and pieces that every age can play and build with.

Learn About Construction and Design

Interlocking different combinations of colored bricks and pieces provide hours of patterning practice that is important for developing early math concepts. Looking for just the right piece strengthens sorting skills, which is a key part of kindergarten curriculum. Building with Lego® also introduces kids to three dimensional thinking and basic physics concepts. The unique interlocking system is a great way for children to learn about construction and design. Lego® also offers more advanced sets involving robotics, motors, sensors and gears.

Finally, Lego® is such a fun and engaging toy. Kids don’t a lot of persuasion from a parent to want to play with it. Because kids already know how to instinctively use the bricks and pieces it builds so much confidence in them while providing both a challenging and rewarding activity. There is no “wrong” way to build and allows for an astonishing range of creative play opportunities.

As the mother of two young kids, Sonya Wilson has experienced first hand the educational and social benefits Lego® offers to both boys and girls. It is the main reason she has started Bricks 4 Kidz® Vancouver which offers unique, hands-on learning using Lego® bricks and specialized components to teach S.T.E.M concepts through After School Classes, In-School Workshops, Camps and Birthday Parties in Vancouver and surrounding areas.