Building with Lego is a favourite activity in our house. Recently, we endeavoured to bring some art into the Lego activities by creating Lego drawings.
The aim was to take something the boys had created out of Lego and encourage them to do a drawing of it.
At first, I wasn’t sure how the boys would go with this. Would it be a five second activity before the boys rushed onto something else?
I’m pleased to report, this activity was well received and the boys did give it a go.
At first they began by drawing an individual piece of Lego (e.g., a Lego dog). Or in the case of one youngster … tracing it. Drawing … tracing … either way, the activity had the boys using fine motor skills and working out how to represent their three dimensional Lego blocks in two dimensions on paper.
I loved the art the boys produced. Yes, I know … I’m extremely biased but I’m allowed to be. That’s part of my job description as ‘Mum’!
While they were drawing, I attempted the activity myself.
I find that when I try something alongside the boys, they will often look at my work and try to extend themselves further. It’s not that I want them to do like I do. It’s more about seeing what someone else is doing and using their ideas to inspire creativity in some way.
Daniel’s next drawing moved away from drawing individual Lego blocks to drawing his Lego creation.
As for my drawing … thankfully there was someone there to help draw on the blue lights which I’d obviously missed! Thanks, David!
Hints for creating successful Lego drawing experiences:
- Choose a time when the artists are willing, ready and interested.
- Draw alongside your child. It doesn’t matter if you can’t draw. Children will follow your example of trying.
- Offer plenty of encouragement … especially if the artist starts saying, “I can’t do it”.
- If necessary, help children break the drawing task into small steps (e.g., what shape is the main body? What shape are the wheels?)
- Have fun! The beauty about art is that it doesn’t have to look like a photograph of the original (that’s why we have cameras!). Art is about interpreting what you see and putting it on paper. It’s about having fun!
By engaging in Lego drawings, children will strengthen:
- observational skills
- fine motor skills
- spatial awareness
- manual dexterity
- hand-eye coordination
- maths concepts – comparisons between different shapes, proprotions, positions and sizes
We hope you have fun creating your own Lego drawings in your house. We’d love to hear about your experiences so feel free to post photos on our Stories and Children Facebook Page.
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Return to the Articles List for other children’s learning activities or children’s book reviews.