Exploring Social Studies with LEGO
LEGO is one of those simple toys that have stood the test of time, for good reason. These simple iconic toys fire the imagination and inspire creativity. Endless uses make LEGO a great investment for your entire family. If you want to extend the uses of LEGO into your homeschool lessons, these great ideas will help your children learn everything from state capitals to historic battles.
Exploring Social Studies with LEGO
Get to know the states and state capitals
LEGO are great because they can be written on with a permanent pen and yet you can still clean them with a dry erase/chalkboard eraser. Write the state names, abbreviations, state capital, and any other information about each state you want your children to memorize. Start with just a few states and work up until you have them all. Have your child match each state’s set.
Build the state out of LEGO
Use LEGO to form the shape of the state your child is learning how to recognize each state on the map. The added advantage of active motor skills makes it a great activity for children that need to fidget to focus during things like read alouds.
Act out historical battles and events
LEGO mini figures are fascinating to children. The additions you can find for them are endless, allowing you to create all kinds of people to act out the stories you read. Build cannons, warships, and other amazing things that allow your child to get deeply immersed into the part of history you are studying. Using LEGO for history is all about diving in and having fun learning.
Then and now
Build objects with LEGO representing how they were made in the past and the modern version. This challenges your child to find drawings and photos of older items online then really study them in effort to recreate a LEGO version. Your child will learn details they never would have just from looking at the photos and moving on.
Build local landmarks
While this one will only work if you have a LOT of LEGO it is a great way to study life in your city. Visit the local landmark taking photos of the complete landmark as well as small details you may want to add. Even if your building does not work out the act of preparing forces your child to really look at the details of the landmark you are building in anticipation of the project.
Keep in mind that children love to learn through play but can become distracted from the task at hand. Be patient and have fun with it. You never know where your LEGO adventure will take you.
Do you use LEGO in your homeschool? Share in the comments!
~Sara
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