#Lego blocks for toddlers how to

Fine motor skills are vital for children’s development and are immensely aided through the use of Lego. Over time, likely with the help of caring adults, we developed these skills.

#Lego blocks for toddlers how to

Fine Motor SkillsĪlthough it is unlikely that we remember, there was a time when we did not know how to walk, run, or hold a pencil. What we learn as a child benefits us in the future, which is why many early learning centres engage with Legos and other similar toys to teach problem-solving. Then, once they complete the puzzle, they understand satisfaction.Īll of these skills are important to learn at a young age because they allow children to develop emotionally, while also giving them a chance to explore puzzles and problem-solving. When they decide to stick with it and keep going, they learn how to acknowledge their feelings and overcome them – the valuable lesson of persistence. When they feel like the puzzle just isn’t making sense, they are introduced to frustration. Emotional GrowthĪlong the way, they learn a variety of skills associated with problem-solving. Once they do and the item is built, the puzzle is complete. They must choose which block fits the description, where to place it and how it fits overall with the design. Children must follow instructions to re-create a building, place or environment, with varying difficulty. In childcare centres, they may have the help of another child to do so. They have to read, interpret and understand what somebody else has written.

At the end of each talker, there is a listener, and Lego helps children understand how to be a listener. Interpreting InstructionsĬommunication is not a one-sided street. If the child is playing alone in a childcare centre or at home, they may still ask their family members for help – developing the emotional aspect of interacting with people and encouraging the child to accept that it is alright to need help. Once the creations are done, the children can play together and create exciting stories from their imaginations. Lego helps develop these social skills by giving children the ability to work in groups to make creations. They can help and guide us and we can do the same for them in return. Learning To Shareįrom a young age, it is important for children to understand the importance of other people. If we need or want something, we need to be able to clearly communicate this. Communication SkillsĬommunication is equally vital for everyone: babies, children and adults. 'Something as simple as making sure kids have exposure to block play would set them up for a future where they can build the right kinds of skills for whatever field they want to go into, and they won't be restricted because of their lack of early experience.Play is the first building block in learning, but what about the building blocks themselves? In this article, we’re delving into the specific skills that children can learn from the well-known toys, Lego blocks. 'If you want to build future STEM enthusiasts, you need to start with fundamental skills and they need to come early,' Shelton says. She's certain that spatial skills learned through block play could soon be recognized as a factor in training tomorrow's scientists, mathematicians, tech professionals, and engineers. Then she'll connect these spatial skills to the children's academic profile, cognitive skills, and school performance to see if there are any correlations. Now Shelton, who has a young son and has stepped on a Lego or two herself, is working to quantify how these master builders create so she can develop a language of block building and determine how these building skills can be learned through training. So far, they've discovered that kids with lots of block experience-so-called 'master builders'-were deliberate in their movements and generally built structures from the bottom up. Using electronic devices, investigators track the movement of Lego bricks as they observe how the children build. In one, young children are given a Lego structure and asked to build a similar structure. Shelton and her colleagues have several block play studies underway in the CTY Research Lab. 'These skills not only have a relationship to academics, but to the fields you might gravitate to, and where you're going to excel.' 'When kids are building with blocks and Legos, they're using spatial reasoning skills,' says Amy Shelton, a cognitive psychologist and director of research at the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. These favorite toys are helping your kid achieve in school and beyond. Those Lego bricks and wooden blocks littering your floor aren't just pain-inducing clutter.