My son loves LEGO bricks. I started him with DUPLO bricks when he was about two years old. By four, he was asking for LEGO bricks. His sister being two at the time, I had to make sure she would not put them in her mouth. We separated her DUPLO space from his LEGO space. It worked.
He is now five and builds projects that amaze me. I keep telling myself we need to send pictures of them to LEGO Club Jr. magazine. My daughter is three and a half now and she plays with LEGO bricks as well. In fact, my children usually play together and they mix the DUPLO and LEGO building systems into neat designs and intricate stories.
When I stumbled across LEGO Quest, I knew this would be a hit with my son. I did not even have to show him. He happened to pass by my laptop and spotted LEGO bricks on the screen. “What are you doing with that, mommy?”
I showed it to him. He was hooked. He did four quests in less than forty minutes. He would have done more, but it was time to start our bedtime routine.
First, he did Quest 2: Monochromatic. He chose color white. His sister and I picked as many white bricks for him as we could until he said, “Stop. I have enough.”
White LEGO Bricks
He started building and came up with this Mini Space Shuttle.
LEGO Mini Space Shuttle
Then, he did Quest 1: Create A Car. He was bent on monochromatic even though I told him he could use as many colors as he needed. He chose red and came up with this car.
LEGO Car
I was ready to call it a night, when he asked to do Quest 3: Vessel. I read the definition of vessel to him: boat, airship, bowl, cup, artery, vein (blood vessel), a person (a vessel of grace) etc. He chose to make a hovercraft. Here it is.
LEGO Hovercraft
When I read LEGO Quest 4 (Two-dimensional) and LEGO Quest 5 (Tool) to him, he did not feel inspired. We moved on to Quest 6: Creature. He ran to the carpet where his LEGO stash was and came up with this.
LEGO Rain Forest Bear
I asked him to tell me what it was, where it lived, and what it ate. He said it was a rain forest bear, it lived in the rain forest and that it rained a lot over there. Apparently, this creature eats trees, chipmunks, squirrels and cement. Before I could say anything, my son added, “Cement will not dry up in his belly.”
Here’s a picture of the four LEGO Quests he made last night.
LEGO Quest Creations
I am not sure how many parts I will have to this homeschooling series, but a series it must be. It depends on how quickly he finishes the 52 LEGO Quests and how much we spread them over time. For other LEGO-related posts, please click here.
Hi Adriana,
My son is almost two and we want to start him off with a good basic Duplo Set. What’s a good size to start with? We’re looking at used lots and wondering if he needs 100 bricks or 500 for a decent sized starter set that will let him and a friend build a house/ tower/ robots etc. Thanks in advance for passing along the wisdom!
Best, Liz
For that age, I would start with 100. If you buy used, there may be no original DUPLO box or directions. In the beginning, I had to show my son how to make a penguin or a home with DUPLOs and I had no idea except for the images on the box. 🙂 But duplo.lego.com should help, if you need help, that is.