You can’t go wrong with LEGO!
I was looking for something low-key to run with my after school kids group this week, and decided to try something new with our always-popular LEGO – marble mazes!
I was inspired by a few cool websites I recommend checking out – Little Bins for Little Hands, Mombrite, Science Sparks and one of my favourites, Frugal Fun for Boys.
As an educator, I’m a big proponent of open-ended, student-led activities that let children explore and experiment and work at their own pace. All I did in this instance was dump out the tub of LEGO, put out a small bowl of marbles, and give each kid a building plate. Then, they were off!
The group spent the entire hour making, testing, remaking and sharing their epic marble runs – we had kids from pre-K to grade 6 actively engaged in their projects. Of course I let everyone know that if they ever got bored of making marble mazes they could move on to building something else, but nobody did!
I feel like as educators there’s sometimes this pressure to always be coming up with bigger, fancier, more complicated activities for our programs, but sometimes, keeping things simple is the most effective approach, as it lets children take the lead, problem solve, and build their skills and confidence.
When in doubt, dump the LEGO out!