Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Ways to play with Lego

What does your kid do after building Lego per the instructions? Play with it? Let it sit there and collect dust? Rebuild it after a while? Combine with existing sets?

Curious mind wants to know

As I posted recently in another thread, after the initial build, DD8 likes to rebuild her Lego Friends. Her most recent creation were pink and purple Mars rovers.

DD uses them. She builds, rebuilds, and recreates. DS5 is more of a "rule follower" and seems more interested in building them according to the instructions and then playing with them (and then getting upset when they inevitably fall apart).

DD8 seems to enjoy building them to spec, then keeping them together and playing with them like one would with dollhouses.

Every once in a while, she'll destroy one and remake it according to her own designs.

I can't say she spends a whole lot of time with them either way.

Our DD9 and DD8 build per instructions, then play with whatever they just built. I posted previously about DD9's obsession with not wanting to take her creations apart...ever! We have been lucky enough to purchase some bulk used Legos (just a large tub full of odds and ends). For some reason it is okay to build and rebuild with these particular Legos (sometimes), but if it came in a box, with specific directions, then in DD9's opinion - that is what it was meant to be.

The girls received several Lego Friends sets for Christmas and have put them all together now. They have an entire town set up in a corner of our front room floor. Certain pets go with certain people and they take their pets to the vet, the park, and to the stable, etc. They go to the store and everyone has a job. They only have 2 Lego cars, so some Lego families have to walk. Eventually some of their older creations will find their place in this new town and some things will morph into other things, but there is no taking things apart without causing major drama.

Once DD14 built to "spec" (which, truly, she did enjoy quite a bit) the item lasted about until she could see a way to make a few "improvements" (often to make it, er... more tactically useful somehow) and all bets were off. Sometimes minutes, sometimes a day or two.

She has also had quite eclectic tastes, so we have bits of Harry Potter LEGO with bits of Indiana Jones, etc.

They live in a giant sturdy box that came from an American Girl purchase many years back. The item, whatever it was, is long since packed away, but the box lives on in my DD's room, filled with LEGO bricks and bits.

Once most buildings or vehicles are built to spec, they are taken apart and the pieces used for elaborate forms of free building.

The exception: Harry Potter kits, which have remained like a dollhouse.

We originally acquired our Legos as a mass chaos set from a yard sale. Some of the pieces date back to the early 70s (yes, I Googled this). So the kids started with no scripts.

They got a couple of set kits over the years, which were built once and admired for a while. Never played with a la dollhouse--they use plastic/stuffed animals and Playmobil for that (DD has also never played with dolls). In one case, the set bricks are still separate. All other kits joined the mass chaos set.

They build absolutely nutty, bizarre contraptions, but the joy is in the construction. I have a rule (sometimes relaxed) that only one construction per kid can be left on display at a time.

My son never really played much with Legos. When he was 6-8 it's all anyone who didn't know him well used to get him for a present but he wasn't really into it. We still have it all because I like Lego's and it's a great toy to have in the house when one has guests.

Blue magic- that's my ds! I think he thinks he's supposed to like Legos. However, the kits just sit there unused until other boys come over. The only part my ds wants to use/ play with- the characters and uses them like action figures. (That was the only reason he liked Cars from the movie- they talked.)

I think I might need to borrow this rule.

DS4 just got some Legos for Christmas. He is very into building elaborate battle scenarios with Duplos, but he is beginning to appreciate the variety of the Legos. He doesn't like fine motor stuff in general so I'm hoping this helps.