Last Thursday we saw the Lego Movie and we had been telling Daniela all day that we were going to see all sorts of Lego buildings and Lego people. She said the movie was really good.
We bought Daniela her first Duplo set for Christmas and has gotten tons of use everyday. She even named her Lego man, Nabil, after our neighbor’s son. Recently we saw another box of Lego Alphabets with a girl and a cat. She has since named the girl Alice, from Alice in Wonderland, one of her favorite bedtime stories.
And the cat is named Nabil’s Cat. Yes that is the cat’s official name after days of prodding the poor girl to name it and I had to be reminded by Dad to let her name it on her own with no help from me.
Building a City on her own
On Wednesday Daniela was building as she usually does while I was in the kitchen cooking lunch. During the day she was entertained with her Lego sets and family. I helped her make a bed for Nabil, Alice, and Nabil’s Cat. That was the only thing I helped her build.
Right before we were going to walk the dog, I sat down in front of her table and look at what she had built. I asked her what types of things she had constructed and she told me that she had constructed the following:
2 Big Dogs
6 Little Dogs
9 Trees
2 cars
1 apartment building
1 bed
Food to eat
I looked at how she set up the small and large trees and noticed a pattern to the small trees. She had lined them up just like the palm trees outside. She had lined up five of her six small dogs. One of her big dogs was laying down.
Raul asked me if I had helped her build anything on the table and I told him no. She had constructed her own city.
No use for Kragle
One thing we reinforce to Daniela is that if a tower she builds falls down, she can build it again. No need to use Kragle like Lord Business does in the movie. Sometimes if I help too much, she will tell me that she can do it on her own. Other times she will invite me to make some of the things that come in the leaflet.
Most importantly, we try not to hinder her creative ideas as she builds, paints, colors, cooks, and crafts. If she paints outside the line, it’s okay, drew an oval instead of a circle it’s okay, if she cut mushrooms that were not the same size, and if she just wants to build and rebuild, she can do it with or with out our help.
As hard as it maybe for adults to do, we have to color outside the lines, run really fast, go up and down sand dunes, and walk in the rain with no gear on. There is a time and a place for Kragle; just not when you are building a Lego City.
Have you seen the Lego Movie?