Keystone Oaks School District launched a STEAM class for all elementary school students (K-5) beginning with the 2016-2017 academic year. As the District continues to build the program and the activities available to students, I would like to incorporate a LEGO wall into my STEAM classroom at Dormont Elementary School.

The benefits of block play for young children are numerous and, according to an article from the National Association for the Education of Young Children, through playing with blocks children learn problem solving, imagination, self-expression, mathematics, continuity and permanence, creativity, science, self-esteem, and social and emotional growth. These are the areas of child development that we are emphasizing in our STEAM class, along with encouraging students to work collaboratively to complete a project or achieve a goal.

The LEGO wall will allow me to engage students in a number of hands-on projects, including designing a marble drop with bricks, solving fractions, telling and creating stories, playing, and more. The  students will love it! And it’s a great opportunity for them to exercise creativity, spatial thinking, fine motor skills, and mathematical reasoning. Finally, it will help to support our school’s culture of including creativity and discovery in instruction.

In order to build the recommended 80’ x 80’ LEGO, we will need 64 baseplates that measure 10” x 10". Our local Home Depot has donated the plywood for the LEGO wall (thank you!). If we meet our fundraising goal, we would be able to build a LEGO wall that would benefit nearly 400 students in kindergarten through 5^th grade.

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