We love creating with Lego in our house. Whether it be making their own creation or recreating a Lego set, there is always a Lego project in progress! I have recently been thinking about ways to extend Immy’s play with Lego and I had the idea of making up some 2D picture designs for her to have a try making. Now this activity looks deceptively simple – it is actually a lot harder then it looks! Completing a design involves sorting, matching, counting, adding, subtracting, even dividing and multiplying – you see, I haven’t indicated which Lego bricks the child should use, so using two square four bricks in an area of the design might work just as well as a six rectangle brick with a two brick or even two ones. There are lots of different combinations that can work in completing each picture.
So far I have created three animal pictures that you are welcome to download and print for use with your own children. I suggest laminating the picture cards so that they can be re-used.
Immy is really enjoying the challenge, and it’s inspired her to try making her own 2D Lego pictures too. Next step will be to have her translate her designs onto graph paper to be used by others!
To download and print: Click on the penguin image below. This will open PDF file of all three animal designs. Download the PDF to your own computer. Open the PDF and print. When printing, select “Fit to printable area” (or similar) to ensure the page fits with your printer type and local paper size (these have been created at A4 size). I printed ours onto matte photo paper. Personal, non commercial use only.
This really is an activity for primary/elementary school aged children. Let me know if you give it a go with your children.
Check out our circus themed mosaics too!
Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.
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