Thursday, September 09, 2010

Have Fun Storming The Castle!

As a parent, I feel a big part of my job is observing my kids and seeing when their eyes light up, taking note of what causes their imaginations to fire. And then- once I have a rough idea what excites them- I try my best to expose them to all sorts of opportunities to explore that thing.

With my oldest it's reading, stories, animals, gymnastics, physical sports.

With my youngest it's turning out to be video games and puzzles. Watching her navigate 3D space in a video game, master the many kid flash based MMOs she plays, or even if she's just solving a 2D puzzle you can tell her brain feels at home with this sort of thinking; like she is in her element when she's thinking in this specific puzzle solving way.

So with that in mind- and wanting to find some other outlets for her to explore her gifts- I got my youngest daughter a big Lego Kingdoms set for her birthday last week. I figured if she dug 2D puzzles, she'd love a 3D one. And boy was I right! She's taken to this like a pig in shit, as they say in the south. Actually, I don't know anyone who says that other than my parents. But they live in the south...so...there's that.

But yeah, what a joy to see your children get excited and turned on and connect with something that really speaks to them. Will this lead to her being an architect? A 3D modeler? Perhaps just someone with a life long love of Legos?!?! All- or none- would be fine with me. I'm just digging watching her connect with a part of herself that is clearly and naturally very strong. 

Here's what we've done so far. We just spent about an hour on it last night and she is only 5 but I'm pretty darn proud of her! 




This is the throne room about 70% complete. We're doing the roof and fine details tonite when she gets home from school. As you can see, we lost a few of the tiny bricks and had to pull the pink and orange ones- that stick out like a sore thumb- from some other Lego set we had. But again, for a little kid I think this is darn neat! 

On a tangent: This is the first time I've ever watched a real Lego set be built. I used to play with Legos as a kid but never did a real kit/set. I just took the pieces and made what I wanted and never followed the instructions.  But low and behold: doing the pre-made Lego sets is really cool! I should done this when I was a kid! :) Can anyone recommend a great, challening Lego set for adults...or are those called models??!

David 

12 comments:

  1. Thats pretty impressive for a 5 year old :O

    And how about trying a lego version of a Star Destroyer? :D
    Cant say i have tried it myself but I have always wanted to. There are a bunch of them out there but check out this one:
    http://kazza.id.au/10030/

    Cya
    Craig.

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  2. it depends on your tastes (and how much you want to spend), but try http://shop.lego.com/ByCategory/

    sometimes ebay is cheaper, except for certain collectibles


    google something like lego aircraft carrier for ambitious ideas

    have fun =)

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  3. http://www.amazon.com/LEGO-Ultimate-Collectors-Millennium-Falcon/dp/B000WLW3W0

    I'm not sure it's actually worth that much, well, actually, fuck it. Yeah it is.

    Legos rule.

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  4. Ahhh Lego, my childhood friend. When I was a young kid it would take me a week or more to put together one of those big castles. The last one I got was when I was 12 or 13, I put it together in 2 hours. At that point I realized I was too old for Legos--sad day:(

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  5. Anonymous9:03 PM

    I remember the "Technics" line of Lego products was the hardest. I had a hell of a time putting them together as a kid.

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  6. It's really cool seeing all the excitement coming from you about your kids and all. I wish more parents in this world were like that, it'd probably be a better place, I'm sure.

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  7. the ultimate collectors editions of the star wars stuff is crazy awesome/complicated/expensive.

    The mindstorms stuff is fun too, plus you can make working robots =D

    Personally I always built the lego's first by the instructions to see how they built it and what it looks like ect, and then from there got bored of what they had and made my own stuff.

    To also go with the whole puzzle thing you were talking about, I think it would be fun to try to make it exactly like they did but using only the pictures on the box as a guide (as opposed to the step by step guide).

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  8. Edward- Sheesh man! I dunno if I'd call that fun or a recipe for insanity. My brain just doesn't think that way (altho it seems my youngest daughter's does!)...but yeah, if you can build one of these things just by the pic on the box then you my friend are a genius! :)

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  9. Sorry for the late reply but I just got back from Orlando. Whilst I was there I visited the Lego Store in Downtown Disney and they had a few new models that were very cool.

    Two that I particularly liked were:
    http://shop.lego.com/ByTheme/Product.aspx?p=10211&cn=245&d=100

    and

    http://shop.lego.com/ByTheme/Product.aspx?p=10213&cn=245&d=100

    They are for ages 16+ which may be as challenging as any Lego set can be.

    And for those people who cannot afford the Star Destroyer that Craig.Porter showed then they also do a smaller version that looks like this which is currently looking very cool on my shelf.

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  10. "Have Fun Storming The Castle!"

    Immediately though of The Princess Bride, one of my favorite movies!

    I loved Legos as a kid, and now that I have son, I can't wait until he's old enough so I can purchase "him" Legos.

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  11. Cresswga- holy cow man! Those look great! So far my kid is still loving working on the Kingdom set with me (about 50% done now). If she's still into post Kingdoms we are getting one of those! Thanks!

    Coffee- Yes, I was quoting Princess Bride! Great film- I need to watch that again very soon!

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