Constructing With Lego® toys Enhances Fine Motor & Gross Motor Skills

LEGO® System A/S is a Danish toy production company based in Billund. It is best known for the manufacture of Lego-brand toys, consisting mostly of interlocking plastic bricks. Over the years, LEGO® has branched out to launch products such as Coding Express, Steam Park, BricQ Motion Prime, BricQ Motion Essential and Spike Prime.

LEGO® construction blocks have been a staple in the toy industry for almost 70 years. The company has been hugely successful in attracting the attention of not only kids, but also teens and adults. It has truly proven to be a toy for all ages, with its creative potential and reigniting interest on a monthly basis. LEGO® construction blocks can be used to create simple structures for and by kids that can keep them engaged for an hour or a day, or can be used by adults to create complicated and focused structures that take up days to create all while they have the fun time that LEGO® construction blocks promise they will have.

LEGO® blocks have an added advantage to kids with various social and developmental difficulties like Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), Dyspraxia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Asperger’s Syndrome. It helps them to not only build successful social relationships with group building plays but also helps them build up their Fine Motor skills and Gross Motor skills.

Fine Motor skills 

Fine Motor skills are the ability to make movements using the small muscles in our hands and wrists. Preschoolers with weak Fine Motor skills can be frustrated when they try to use tools such as paint brushes and markers. In fact they might stay away from them altogether. It’s important to find playful activities that not only strengthen those Fine Motor skills but also build the child’s confidence. Building Fine Motor skills with LEGO® bricks has been very successful. Young children love playing with them, and yet they are also strengthening those hands and fingers. Some fun ways to achieve this objective are:

Duplo Ring Toss:

  • For this activity we use Pipe Cleaners and LEGO Duplo Bricks.
  • First, twist the end of the pipe cleaners to make rings. This will require using the tips of the thumb and fingers.
  • Then stack a few rows of Duplo Bricks to make towers.
  • Now, the goal is to aim the ring so that it would wrap around one of the towers.
  • This play is also a brilliant way to work on the child’s hand-eye coordination when they aim for the rings. Try this sitting in front of the towers and then standing over them. To learn more about Lego’s play solutions, visit our website: shop.knowledge-hub.com

Fine Motor Bowling:

  • Take the Duplo Towers that were made for the Ring Toss Activity and use them for bowling.
  • Roll a golf ball towards the tower and try to aim at a particular one so you can knock it over.
  • This requires children to use their core muscles. The steadier the core is, the easier it will be for them to use their hands and fingers.

Gross Motor skills

Gross Motor skills are abilities that let us do tasks that involve large muscles in our torso, legs and arms. The abilities can be developed by playing sports early in life, or having a healthy sense of movement throughout the body can help with strengthening these over the years. Even regular things such as correction of the posture, grip and Proprioceptive input from the fingers can be worked on to help with these abilities.

Lego presents innovative kits that integrate STEM education syllabus. If you are looking for a reliable Lego® supplier in Dubai or UAE visit our website: shop.knowledge-hub.com.

Place the bin of LEGO® bricks on the ground near the baseplates. Provide each child with a pattern card and challenge them to replicate the pattern using the LEGO® bricks on one of the baseplates.

LEGO®​ has continued to intrigue children and help parents and teachers in developing necessary skills in their children and students respectively. Some schools in the Middle East, including GCC countries, urge parents and children alike to spend time playing with LEGO® bricks to develop social and motor skills.