The Lego Community

The children were creating with building materials and Lego. Star Wars was the topic of interest as the children worked side-by-side building spaceships and talking about construction. 

Children enjoy choosing materials and having time to focus on the creative process. Collaboration grows with discussions among children during work. Communication feeds action as children share ideas and begin to work together.

As I listened closer, the discussion between the children shifted. The focus changed from the characters in Star Wars and spaceships to a deeper conversation about the techniques used for creating with Lego. The children discussed the versatility and functionality of each Lego piece. The children were trying to find a specific Lego piece to create a desired visual and structural effect. 

As the focus on the work increased, the group became less active and started considering each Lego piece's possibilities. Construction halted for a few minutes as the children opened a discussion to compare each Lego for the spaceship.

The stoppage of work was purposeful for the children. Less experienced creators wanted to learn new Lego techniques from more experienced builders. The experienced creators are more adventurous with materials and share insights newer builders have not discovered yet.

The pattern of children learning from each other happens in all classroom areas. Helping and learning from each other is the glue that binds and grows the learning community. In school-age care, the age range is vast, so the opportunity for the children to guide and encourage each other is plentiful.

The children started talking about their new Lego techniques as they returned to work. They listened to each other while building and occasionally stopped to watch and engage with another child in the group.

Learning a new technique is a physical and verbal activity for children since all senses fire as children grasp further information. As children form new patterns of thought around creative work, their knowledge grows.

Continuing work with Lego, the children built and disassembled their spaceships many times. The process of iteration was in play. Children were building, experimenting, and making discoveries. Rebuilding occurred many times throughout the afternoon. The iteration process was helping the children make discoveries as they created ships more detailed and elaborate than the original work.