What do we do with our LEGO, how do we make it easier to play for our child and even us?
Often with our children we are the ones to rebuild their sets, so we see the lego and want it sorted so we can find the pieces. But this isn’t always good for our kids.
I found for my son in the beginning with Duplo LEGO he preferred all in one container, he preferred a clear container. As he moved on to playing with the smaller pieces he also preferred the LEGO to be separated in size, Large pieces through to Small all in different containers. Now at 11 he prefers all pieces to be sorted into piece types. I use Fisher containers which stack on top of each other but still allow access to the bricks.
In my talks with other parents I have heard that some Children prefer the division of bricks to be colour based in clear container, often this allows a feeling of control of their play space.
If playing on the floor, a sheet down first allows ease for picking up. I actually use a board that slides under a bed, it means that bricks are easier clicked together than on carpet.
Your child may insist sets to be made fully, and they play with it for a week or two then alter it to what they want (at times to your frustration). This is the way of play for many children, it’s ok and the way of LEGO play as well.
Instructions often lose pages and are read a lot, I slice my instructions and LEGO Club magazines and place them in plastic sleeves in folders. For my son this allows the easy reading of his pages without losing any pages and the emotional responces to losing or damaged pages.
A few people have asked me since you’re a big LEGO enthusiast where do you buy your LEGO? Well like you I shop around, I will at times buy from brinklink.com, but if I’m impatient then I’ll see which of my local Kmart, Target and Big W’s have what I want. I also check online stores as well as they are often very reasonably priced and ship very quickly.
