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Serious Lego Obsession!!! They're Making a Come Back:)

  I have two sons!  At a very young age, they obviously wanted legos.  We started with mega blocks, moved on to duplo blocks, and finally made the transition to real legos.  Now EVERYONE knows the value in a lego - EVEN if you're a parent of a girl.  I mean WHO WOULDN'T love the new Frozen Castle or Cinderella Lego sets available for even the youngest princess:)!! The fine motor skills and creativity they create in children is something that can NOT be taught!!   However, legos are NOT just for homes anymore - legos are becoming (and I might add HAVE been for many years) a HUGE part of the education field as well.  When I was down at the TIES conference before Christmas break, I saw some REALLY neat ways that legos are being used in the classrooms.  I used them when I taught fifth grade as a "creativity" center - kids could come up with a unique car, and then change it to make it run faster, go further, or hold more weight.  They compiled bridges and buildings while trying to create sturdy structures as architectures.  Below are a few NEW ideas that I never THOUGHT of - YIKES!  SO OBVIOUS and SO SO COOL:

Basic Story Retelling:

Following Directions:
Division:
 The list could really go ON AND ON - patterns, symmetry, graphing, inquiry, etc... seriously cool cool fun!  And not TOO expensive if you collect a little bit each year over time!  PLUS you might have some parents that have legos at home that they no longer want - ALWAYS worth looking into!

Lego Robotics in particular, has been a growing area for many schools.  There are competitions ALL over the country.  Legos in Education has a TON of kits that you can use to get started with - take a look and talk to your PTA, PTO, Booster Clubs, etc.. that might have some funding available for you!

Good luck with this one!  I am going to start looking into funding in Barnesville to add this to our MakerSpace - wish me luck;)!!

Happy Wednesday all,
Mrs. I:)

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