Lego math activities. Learning through fun!

It is here that math language can easily be slipped into play.  Simply by building along with your child, it is easy to say, “Honey, can you pass me that yellow four (dot) square please?” and give a running narrative as you build and play together.  Little comments like, “I wish we had more of these eight dot rectangles” will register over time, and help your child think in groups.  Down the line, you’ll reap the rewards when he or she faces problem solving with repeated addition and multiplication and division.Our world is full of patterns and very young children are able to recognize this.  If an adult builds something with a repeating colour pattern, a child will often comment on it and duplicate it.  As they get older, they will begin to recognize more complex patterns as they build.A good example with lego is in building a solid wall. Once a wall falls apart in columns, it usually only takes one or two demonstrations of laying a brick over the area where two join on the row below to continue that pattern for a lifetime!Find a reason to sort the bricks.  It could be a game or challenge: “Let’s see what we have more of – the red ones, the yellow ones, or the green ones.”It could be something practical: “Why don’t we put all of the really long bricks together so they’ll be easy to find when we’re building our bridge.”Children often come up with surprising sorting rules of their own.  “These ones have higher bumps because they came from a different pack.”The purpose of sorting is for the child to start thinking about grouping items according to how they are alike in some way.View the list »
Playing with Lego and similar toys builds math concepts like sorting, patterning, number sense and geometry.

General Education newsletter

How much thought is given to mathematics in early childhood? While the benefits of reading to young children have been widely publicized, there has not been a lot of attention given to the development of math concepts early in life. Playing with blocks, shape sorters, exploring their world and interacting with others give them the experiences that they will build on once they arrive at school. Experts caution that too much screen time takes time away from these valuable play experiences.

Related topics

Advertisement

Lego and similar products provide such rich learning opportunities because children become so engaged in playing with them that any new knowledge they acquire is just bonus by-product (in their minds!)

A gentle reminder – as mentioned in creating a lifelong reader, fun is the name of the game. Even though you are training an efficient thinker, the most important thing is the fun and sense of connection between the members of the family.

The specific math skills below naturally occur during play, but have been presented in a manner that can be used by homeschooling parents and teachers.

Did you read about the Lego man who went to space recently? Check out Why write? Writing for real purposes to read all about it (and for neat opportunity to connect with Lego Man's crew).

Enjoy this article? Receive email alerts when new articles are available. Just click on the 'subscribe' button above.

View the list
  • Find a reason to sort the bricks.  It could be a game or challenge: “Let’s see what we have more of – the red ones, the yellow ones, or the green ones.”It could be something practical: “Why don’t we put all of the really long bricks together so they’ll be easy to find when we’re building our bridge.”Children often come up with surprising sorting rules of their own.  “These ones have higher bumps because they came from a different pack.”The purpose of sorting is for the child to start thinking about grouping items according to how they are alike in some way.
  • Our world is full of patterns and very young children are able to recognize this.  If an adult builds something with a repeating colour pattern, a child will often comment on it and duplicate it.  As they get older, they will begin to recognize more complex patterns as they build.A good example with lego is in building a solid wall. Once a wall falls apart in columns, it usually only takes one or two demonstrations of laying a brick over the area where two join on the row below to continue that pattern for a lifetime!
  • It is here that math language can easily be slipped into play.  Simply by building along with your child, it is easy to say, “Honey, can you pass me that yellow four (dot) square please?” and give a running narrative as you build and play together.  Little comments like, “I wish we had more of these eight dot rectangles” will register over time, and help your child think in groups.  Down the line, you’ll reap the rewards when he or she faces problem solving with repeated addition and multiplication and division.
View the list
Suggested by the author:

, Newmarket Early Childhood Education Examiner

Ida Mae, mother of two and the voice behind the parenting and education blog "A Vision For Our Kids," is an elementary school special education teacher and a graduate of York University’s Faculty of Education. With experience teaching the primary grades and Reading Recovery™, her area of...

Advertisement

Today's top buzz...