Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Lego sets, instructions and creativity

DS5 really likes LEGO sets. He will work through the instructions and be happy with a final toy or castle or whatever. Does doing a lot of programmed LEGO building (following the booklet etc) stifle creativity? Or is it just harmless fun? Just curious what folks think.

I'd say that it depends on the kid's preferences more than anything else.

Our DS, with a new LEGO kit, will follow the included directions to build the object. He's reasonably good at doing this, but I'd say it's not his favorite part, as he generally isn't attached to keeping the pieces together once it's finished.

In fact, he seems to prefer taking them apart afterwards and putting them together in new ways for his own creations (often with stunning detail). We converted his old train table into a LEGO table where he has hundreds of pieces scattered about on it, all from various kits we've acquired over the years.

I cannot imagine following the booklet is going to stifle creativity. If anything, it probably helps to improve visual/spatial ability and fine motor skills. He probably can also learn some basic building techniques for his own design in the future.

Sure, free build is more creative but to build anything recognizable may not be a skill he has yet at 5. And if he can follow instruction well at age 5 and that is a feat in itself. I even enjoy these sets as an adult. I found it meditative.

You may consider signing him up for a Lego class offered by a art center. They often teach how to free built by making a design sketch first, and go from there.

Here's what happens in our house: we buy a Lego kit. My middle son (biggest Lego fan in the house) puts it together and puts it on his Lego shelf for a while. Eventually, it comes down and gets taken apart. All the pieces end up in a giant plastic bin that slides under his bed.

Next --- and this is his usual way of playing with Legos --- he'll root through the pieces and build something, which may be small (a plane, a tank, the Quickie Mart) or large (Dinoland, the rebel base, a town, etc.).

In our case, the key is to mix up all the pieces in the giant plastic bin. We often throw the directions away, too. If anyone wants to build whatever-it-is again, we can just get the directions online. So far, no one has ever wanted to rebuild anything.

ETA: my kids have been following this pattern since they were 5 or 6.

If it's a big kit, like the Millennium Falcon DD loves following the instructions and keeping it intact. But we also have a lot of classic Lego which she either free plays with or follows instructions for making little houses and cars etc but then will bust them up again to make new things.

PS. It's funny how Americans say "Legos" And how some PPs say LEGO

I'm American yet say LEGO.

My DS worked independently through a massive set provided by an indulgent relative (not all one sitting) and when he was done it was ... time for more LEGO! Sigh.

IMHO, if a kid chooses to and loves to follow instructions and build instead of free play with LEGO, let him/her. I don't think it would stifle creativity. That said, DD6 is like the pp's kids- she builds it once but immediately breaks it and mixes up all pieces. It used to drive me crazy as I did not like the idea of spending $$$ just to see it all mixed up. But I am cool about it now since dd has way more fun building her own stuff- she usually has a story in her head and builds around the story- it is pretty interesting. So now instead of spending money on sets, we go to the LEGO store and buy assorted bricks.

When I was a kid, there were no Lego kits, just lots of bricks. Totally miscellaneous bricks. We had a ton of them, and I spent countless happy hours creating all sorts of things from them. My ds grew up in a world of Lego kits. The bigger the kit the better. He put together the kits (didn't always actually need the instructions but if he got stuck, he used the instructions. Everything was exact. Never once built a single Lego creation outside the box of what was defined by the kit.

We are both very creative people, just in our own different ways

polarbear

We have a mix of kits and free builds, and DS5 loves both. Some of the kits are fantastic for play, so it's a shame to me to reduce them to just bricks! But we have a lot of generic lego that gets made into lots of different things.

If you want to encourage creative building, join in. Make some extra buildings or new cars or whatever. Get different building materials (Kapla is a major hit with DS5).

FWIW, my DS is a more creative builder than I was in part because his school has free build lego in the classrooms starting for the 3 year olds. Every class, a giant pile of lego. It's brilliant for the kids.