Children As Creators: Leverage Laser Pegs To Teach Life Long Lessons

Children As Creators: Leverage Laser Pegs To Teach Life Long Lessons

Though our culture seems to underestimate the importance of play, savvy parents know the truth: Play is more than just fun. It’s important for the development of a healthy child, and it provides one way to teach lessons that can last a lifetime.

According to Jona Anderson-McNamee and Sandra Bailey, specialists in family and human development at the Montana State University Extension, “Play is an essential and critical part of all children’s development. Play starts in the child’s infancy and ideally, continues throughout his or her life. Play is how children learn to socialize, to think, to solve problems, to mature and most importantly, to have fun. Play connects children with their imagination, their environment, their parents and family and the world.”

As such, parents should encourage plenty of safe and healthy playtime, and think “outside the box” about how to leverage that time to produce results. By undertaking a Laser Pegs building project, parents, grandparents, and extended family members can begin instilling life skills that will serve children for a lifetime.

Wondering how? Here are a few suggestions.

Begin Your Building Project by Reading the Directions

While free play offers great benefits, there’s also a lot to be said for submitting to the discipline of organization. By teaching your child to read directions (or listen to someone else read them) before beginning to build, you will model the importance of planning your work and working your plan!

Commit to Working the Project Through With Patience

Our society doesn’t value waiting with patience as much as it used to, but it’s still a virtue. By teaching your child to take their time to complete the project properly and urging them to press through to the finish even when they want to quit, you will help them develop the staying power they’ll need to excel as adults.

Allow Creative Repurposing With an Eye Toward Invention

Following instructions teaches one thing; creative repurposing teaches another. After you’ve built your first project to conform to design, encourage your young builder to disassemble the masterpiece and create something completely new—all on their own. By doing so, you will celebrate your child’s unique vision and drawing out the inventor within.

Happy building!