Leger Godt I Danmark!

Honestly, I don't think that there is a commercial toy more universal and open ended than LEGOS!

They are great hands on manipulatives for young, concrete learners. 

Did you know.... Legos come from Denmark? (Danmark if you are in Denmark).

The first lego toys did not look like the bricks we play with today, in fact some of the first lego toys were made from wood. You can see a couple of them in the photos above and below.

The word LEGO is actually made from combining two Danish words,

 "leger" which means to play and

"godt" which means good/well.

The original Legoland is located in Billund, Denmark.

It is an amazing place to visit.

There are oodles and oodles of  all creations made from legos!

But, you don't have to visit Legoland to appreciate and enjoy playing well with legos!

Legos are great for building structures as high as you can....

They are also great for making pyramids....

You can be creative and make all of your own critters with legos....

Or, you can "read" and build according to the directions.

Legos are fun for everyone :).

There are so many things you can do with Legos! In addition to using them in our childcare classroom, we also use them to homeschool! They are great manipulatives for exploring math and science! You can find one of our car building science experiments here.

We have also used a big pile of legos to estimate, sort, count, and graph. They are fantastic tools for

teaching multiplication and area. Of course, not all of these concepts are developmentally appropriate for preschool aged children, but for those of you who work with mixed ages like I do, Legos are great for ALL ages!

I couldn't resist in sharing about Legos with you, being that I am celebrating the holidays in Denmark. Don't forget to play well, as we look to the new year!

 More About Amy

Amy Ahola is the owner/operator of Child Central Station, group home daycare and educational toy store in Marquette, Michigan.  She has been running her own business since 2005. Prior to that time, Amy worked in a childcare center and public school. In addition to her childcare business, Amy also provides educational training sessions. Amy earned a Bachelors of Science in Psychology from Northern Michigan University and a M.S. in Training, Development, and Performance Improvement.  For more information about any of her programs, please visit Child Central Station or Find her on Facebook!