Measuring with Legos
You have seen Jamie here before.  She’s not only the awesome author of Hand’s On: As We Grow, she is a serious force in the behind the scenes blogging world.  I owe a lot of what I know, and how I blog to her. Thanks Jamie!  Now go ahead and share your playful learning idea. 🙂
This is such a great learning activity for those of you lesson plan moms. And I know Jillian has a love for Legos, too!
And using Legos, of course! Start measuring stuff around the house with Legos!
Measuring with Legos
After gathering together 40 Block Activities for Kids, I couldn’t pass up trying some myself! This lego measuring idea came from NurtureStore.
After building some pattern towers, Henry and I measured the boxes in our living room rug.
He laid his tower on the side and counted how many blocks long it was. He struggles after he gets to 13 [skipping 14 and 15 and jumps to 16, and then again skipping to 19], but once he gets to 20, he’s good up to 30. So I was there for some support to get him through those numbers.
You can measure shoes, chairs, tables, lamps, toys, dishes, etc. My only tip for this is to choose objects that are roughly the size that your child can count to [maybe just slightly more to give them that push]. If I was thinking, I would have chosen a smaller object to measure with the Legos, so Henry could do the counting completely by himself.
Once this art of measuring is mastered. Try comparing objects. And ask questions.
Which object is bigger? Which one is longer? Can you find the shortest object? And so on.
What other materials can you use to measure objects with?
Jaime is a stay at home mom who works at her family bakery when she’s not playing with her kids. Â Hands on: as we grow is filled with
activities she does with her kids (Henry, 4, and George, 1 1/2).This is one mom blogger to keep an eye on. Â I think there are great things in her future! Find Jamie on Google+.
Isn’t if fun to have guest bloggers! Jamie is certainly one of the bloggers I follow. Awesome post, I like that she mentioned and can pin-pint when he starts to struggle. This certainly gives him the practice and encouragement to count on:) Perfect preschool Math activity.
Yes Deborah it is so fun to have guest bloggers, especially when they bring such inspiring posts!!! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Using non-standard units ( like lego blocks, your own feet, etc…) to introduce children to measurement is a fun and functional way of doing it. They are comfortable with the items they are using to measure, and it’s a little less abstract than a standard unit like an inch or centimeter. They can see and manipulate these units and are familiar with them as well. My son loved this and has been asking to measure his sister in Legos too.
Did his sister say yes? A family Lego measuring day would be so much fun. hmm…..