For the Love of Legos

Rarely a morning goes by that the bottom of my tender feet do not encounter a tiny LEGO or two on my son's bedroom floor when waking him in the dark for school. And, rarely a day goes by that I am not finding a stray LEGO or two in between a van seat, hidden in a coat pocket or nestled in a couch cushion. Heck, somehow I find them in weird places like a shelf in my food pantry or hanging out with the can of air freshener on the stand by the toilet! 

I am a LEGO mom ... my son (and often my two younger daughters) spend much of their free time invested in LEGOS. My son's bedroom looks as if we own every possible LEGO product ever produced (although according to him during every trip to the store ... we absolutely DO NOT and he MUST buy the newest, latest set). We just finished another LEGO-themed birthday party ... third year (or maybe it's the fourth?) in a row for my little guy! I'll be posting all about it in an upcoming post.  Here is last year's cake:

There are many benefits to playing with LEGOS and it has to be one of the top toys that I feel super comfortable allowing my kids to play with. There's the creativity aspect ... the things they create are pretty amazing sometimes. Recently, my son made me a little recipe holder out of LEGOS. For my birthday recently, he made me a sign out of LEGOS that said "I LOVE YOU, MOM." He has made boxes out of LEGOS to hold his special possessions (rocks, coins, video games). And, of course, I've read several studies about LEGOS being good for motor and math skills. LEGOS have been a cool motivator and a way to teach my son about money and the benefits of earning (and saving!) his allowance. Although he has received many of his LEGOS as Christmas and birthday gifts, he is required - for the most part - to earn, budget and save his own money to use towards those LEGOS that come out that he really wants. And, in my house, LEGO playtime is often met with fighting over pieces. (How is this possible, by the way, with thousands to choose from?) These times are a great opportunity to encourage sharing, teamwork and selflessness. LEGO building, also, really gives my son a sense of pride when - after hours of working on a project - he calls us all into his room to show off his latest masterpiece!

I just found a great idea online for turning a basic, wooden children's table into a LEGO table by covering the tabletop with green panels to create a LEGO play table. Since we have several of these tables already (including a couple in storage), this is a perfect way to give new life to something we're not currently using! Our next project that we're hoping to, also, dig into this summer is making a LEGO wall in my son's room (or, at least, a part of a wall) out of the big green LEGO panels ... like this:

Here is a sneak-peak at his recent LEGO party.  Watch for the post soon with all of the details, photos and ideas!