Tell me about Legos

[lcarlson90]

DS wil be 6 in February and he has asked for Lego's for Christmas. Last year for his birthday he got a couple little sets and he liked them but DH and I ended up building them for the most part.

I don't really get the appeal. Once they are built how do you continue to play with them? Which sets would be good for a 6 year old? I have seen the City series and that seems cool, would that be appropriate for him?

[MolieMuts]

DS1 received Legos as a gift when he was about to turn 4. I thought he was way too young, but that was by far his favorite gift. He is 6 now and can put many of the sets together himself, but I still "help" him. He really wants the Kingdom Castle set for Christmas, I think the large set is age 8 and up, so I would definitely have to help him with that one. But once they are built, they stay together for a few days maybe a week and then he slowly takes them apart and makes his own creations. I think his favorite parts are the different mini-figures and other "extras" that come with the sets, like the skeletons and animals. In the past I tried to keep the sets together and separate from each other, but they have become lumped all together now.

Even though the sets don't stay together for long, they are fun to build initially and he really likes the cool extra pieces that come with them that you cannot find in the regular brick buckets.

[pb&j]

DS is almost five and loves legos. We got a big bin of assorted legos (most from different sets, but nothing put together and no instructions) from a friend, and he can sit for hours just putting them together to make little spaceships or cars or boats. We have bought a couple of very small sets here and there, but he really just prefers the open-ended play.

DS is probably on the young side for legos, but he's wired for it. He's always had a love of putting things together and taking them apart.

[kristac]

I'm looking at getting the brickmaster books/sets for my 6 year old lego novice. I also got a few of the tiny $3.99 sets. Maybe a tub as well. His Bday is 4 days after Christmas so I will likely give 1 or 2 sets at Christmas and then gauge his interest before adding more for his bday.

[Canna]

We have a ton of duplos and gave DD (4 and 11/12 at the time) one of those plastic boxes full of regular Legos for the holidays last year. It came with instructions for building a variety of small structures and I was surprised but pleased to find that she liked following the directions and could build them herself. In my opinion, the main point of building with Legos is not to make a model exactly like the picture, but also to build things yourself imaginatively. She does that too. I don't think the idea is to build things and then leave them built forever and ever. DD said she wanted just about everything in the Lego store this year for her birthday/holiday gifts. (She's now almost 6.) I have bought the set that builds a bus and a couple of stores (bike shop and pizza shop) and a set that builds a house. I expect she may need some help with them, but she may surprise me. When she takes them apart, I plan to just keep the pieces together with our other general pieces (but keep the building directions of course.)

[SnuggleBuggles]

Legos are a classic, awesome toy! Sets- great because they teach you new techniques for building and you have to learn to follow directions. Plain bricks are fine too because you can be creative. I like a mix of both and just have ds build the sets. Depending on how long the sets take to build I sometimes require that they just be objects to place on a shelf and admire for a while. But, after a while they can come out and they can morph into something new and cool. I love watching the creativity.

With just a container of bricks a kid can be busy for hours. They are great toys and I totally recommend giving into them. :)

Beth

[hellokitty]

Well, for the kits, my kids play with them for a little while, but then always take them apart and make new things. They are a GREAT toy, my kids have logged in hundreds of hours of play time creating things with their imagination. If your son is 6, he should be able to make the kits himself, don't let him talk you and your dh into helping him. No reading is req'd, the steps are all pictorial. If I were you, I'd get the bulk container of lego, instead of a kit and give that to your son as a beginner set. He will love it!

[mikeys_mom]

At age 5, my DS also needed help to put together the sets. He is now 6 and can easily do any of the age-appropriate sets on his own. Agree with all PPs that DS can spend hours playing lego.

Some sets he likes to keep together, others he reconfigures a bit and eventually takes them apart to build something new. He has lots of the sets of various sizes plus a large tub. Legos are slowly taking over his room. We recently bought a Billy bookcase from Ikea (the tall, thin one) to store all his creations. He looked at the Ikea instuction manual and said - this is just like lego! He was then able to construct the bookcase almost completely on his own. DH moved the large pieces of wood into place and carefully assisted when tools were necessary. DS told us that Ikea is Lego for adults. LOL!

[KrisM]

My 6.5 year old is a kit kid. He does not build much creatively at all. He loves to build the kit and play with them. We're hoping he gets more creative and we're helping him with it. But, honestly, I think he'd be frustrated with a bin of blocks.