Lego Building Ideas and Challenges for Summer

I love a good Lego challenge, where you set kids out to try to build something with Legos. It’s fun to see what they come up with on their own, but of course there are a lot of great instructions out there for building various things with Legos. You can do it either way: give them the instructions and let them build that way, or ask if they can come up with something on their own before you give them the instructions.

One great thing about Lego challenges is that they become engineering projects even if you are following directions. So it’s a super fun learning activity kids might not even register as being educational.

Here are a few Lego builds that caught my eye recently.

Little Bins for Little Hands has a fun Lego zipline challenge. This is one kids can build on their own and then see how different ways of building an enclosure for a mini figure affect how fast the contraption zips.

Or you can learn how to tell time with a sundial by making a Lego sundial with this idea from Mom Brite. If you leave it outside undisturbed you can actually use it to tell time!

Frugal Fun 4 Boys and Girls has so many great Lego ideas it’s hard to narrow it down, but here are a couple of my favorites. Making catapults is a STEM classic, and this post shows two different ways to make a catapult out of Legos.

But the coolest one I found is this Lego air hockey table! This mini table is a fun challenge because while it would be pretty simple to put together you might have to hunt around for the right kinds of bricks to make it work. But I would definitely want to play with this one.

Do you have a favorite Lego building challenge you’ve done with your kids? I’d love to hear about it!

How to Build a Lego Night Light

Disaster Island Lego Building Challenge

Lego All About Me Printable

Lego Mats for Winter

LEGO Snowflake Building Challenge

Make a Chess Board out of Legos

Next Plan Idea:

Review: The Lego Christmas Ornaments Book

Last month I shared some tips for teaching the alphabet to kids and why going in alphabetical order isn’t the best way to do it. Honestly a lot of learning at this age has to do with play, so let’s look at some fun alphabet activities that kids can do that will help them learn the alphabet.

Activities that get kids moving and learning at the same time are ideal for preschool, and Forward with Fun has a few great ideas, like this fly swatter letter recognition game (which you could also use for numbers, words, all sorts of things you’re learning) and a beginning sound stomping game.

Another fun alphabet game you can do at home or adapt for wherever you are is this printable alphabet scavenger hunt from Play Party Plan. They’ve got a list of items to find and also a blank printable you can write your own list on, or let kids write down what they find for each letter.

Or do a literal letter scavenger hunt like this one from Happily Ever Mom. This one uses the letters from an alphabet puzzle but you could also use magnet letters or just cut out shapes of letters. It also adds the fun of doing it in the dark and hunting with a flashlight, but you can also do it with the lights on if you want.

This alphabet sensory bottle from Parenting Chaos is made with a set of alphabet beads and would be fun to keep in the classroom or have in the car or for quiet times.

Use what you have to make an alphabet learning activity, like this one made with Duplo blocks from Playtivities. You can stick letters to the sides of blocks (or write them on) and just play with them, use them for letter recognition and talking about sounds, and eventually spelling and reading, too.

Turn letter learning into craft time by making a big letter out of a bunch of little letters with this activity from Meaningful Mama. If you don’t get magazines anymore check with your local Buy Nothing group, or your local library may have some they’re looking to get rid of.

I think most preschoolers love dot markers, so these free alphabet dot marker worksheets from Daydream into Reality would be a great thing to download and print out. This is a great set because it includes uppercase and lowercase letters, and some have letter tracing practice while others include something that starts with that letter that kids can color. Work with one letter at a time or the letters in the child’s name and then provide the whole set as a quiet time activity.

Another great set of alphabet worksheets that isn’t free (and would also be good for older kids) is this set from My Nerdy Teacher. These worksheets include letter tracing and recognition activities, as well as objects to color.

I also love these alphabet roads printables from Messy Little Monster, which kids can use with cars to trace the letters (they could also be playdough mats you use to form the letters in the shape shown, or trace with a dry erase marker).

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