I was excited when LEGO Education offered to send me the Lego “Build Me” Emotions set to review. Hands-on materials that teach emotions are so hard to find, and Legos are a great way to get kids’ interest.
My class was very enthusiastic about playing with the Legos! The set comes with these mats that show you how to build Lego people, and all of the Lego Duplo pieces needed to build each one. My class called these cards “maps”. Each face shows a different emotion, and they are double-sided. When you flip your Lego people around, you will see a different emotion expressed on their faces.
We did this activity as a small group. They’re also a great center activity. As we looked at the Build Me mats and the yellow Lego faces, we talked about the different emotions we saw. Many children only used the words “happy”, “sad”, and “angry”. Other children introduced the group to words like “surprised”, “embarrassed”, “frightened”, and the discussion that went on while the kids played helped children learn some new vocabulary.
We also looked closely at the pictures on the mat to figure out why the Lego people were expressing those emotions. If the Lego boy had a sad face with tears, why was he crying? We figured out that he was sad because his dog got away. If we flip him over to show the emotion on the other side, now he’s happy. Then, children had to figure out why he was now happy (because he got his dog back).
Children can copy the cards to create the Lego people in the pictures, but they can also create Lego people on their own, and come up with their own stories about why that emotion is expressed on their faces. In the picture below, one of my students created a Lego girl by copying a card, and then created a matching Lego boy by herself.
My special needs inclusion student was able to build the Lego people along with everyone.
We also practiced making the same expressions on our own faces that we saw on the Lego people.
To order this set, go to Lego Education “Build Me” Emotions.
Disclosure: I received a free set of Lego Education “Build Me” Emotions, but was not compensated in any other way. All opinions are my own.