• Sometimes my kids don’t get along. Sometimes they fight, and bicker, and make me want to pull my greying hair right out of my head. I know when this starts happening a lot that it is time to play the Lego game. I actually learned about the Lego game back when I was in the work force full time. It was one of the games my supervisor made us all play to “build the team.” Out of that context, this game is fun. My kids like it, and it encourages them to work together which I like.

    Kids actually gain much more from this game than adults. In addition to practicing listening skills, kids have to work on their verbal communication, their ability to describe things and actions, patience, taking turns, and various math skills (object relations, colors shapes, counting, etc).

    Here is how the game is played. Each player is given a set of Legos. They each have the exact set of Legos. All the same colors, shapes and sizes. They will each also need one of those big flat green Legos used as a base to most buildings. Again, of the same size. The quantity of Legos will depend on the ages of your kids. The more they have the more complicated the game will be.

    Now that everyone has the same game pieces it is time to separate. The players cannot see each others boards. You can stack books between them, cereal boxes, or do it the way my kids prefer. Each one goes to their own room with their Legos and they talk via a walkie talkie.

    One players uses their Legos to build something. When they are finished it is their job to describe what they have done to the other player. An example of an instruction could be, “Place the blue Lego with two bumps in the bottom left corner of the board.”

    As you can imagine it is much harder than it sounds. It is fun to see how close their creations can be. This is great because after some practice they get really good at it. You can see an improvement in how closely the two boards match. Proof that your kids can learn to give and receive constructive instruction.

    You can also play this game with more than two players. So long as everyone is blocked from seeing each others boards and they each have the same matching sets of Legos, you can have as many players as you choose. Then just take turns with who is giving the instructions.