Review: Bricks 4 Kidz

Last week, Sharon Dodson, Managing Director of Bricks 4 Kidz in Louisville, came over to conduct a trial mini-party for my son, daughter and some friends.  While she set up, the kids were getting so excited to see what kinds of lego goodies she was going to whip out of her bags!  She got out a big box of the larger duplo blocks for them to build with and get warmed up.  As soon as a few friends arrived, Sharon got the older kids started on their project while at the same time setting up a motorized lego art project for the other kids.

My son and some friends (~ages 4-6) worked on making an intricate pyramid out of some smaller lego pieces.  Each of them got a box of all of the legos they needed and a kid-friendly manual to follow.  She assisted them in getting started in the pattern and how to follow the instructions.  The manuals are numbered and have large pictures that are colo- coded, making them easy to follow.   Quickly, all of the children were busy constructing their pyramids. 

Meanwhile, some of the parents and I helped the younger children with the moterized lego project.  We taped a paper plate to the legos and when we turned it on, it spun.  Then, the children used markers to make rainbow swirl designs on the plates.  They were fascinated. One of the little girls sat there the entire time mesmerized by the contraption making rainbow plate after rainbow plate!  I’d say that was a success!

After the pyramid builders were well on their way and self-sufficient, Sharon got manuals for the younger children (~ages 2-3) so we could help them make dinosaurs out of the larger duplo sets.  It was really cute and I loved that it was quite educational since we kept referring to the pieces at 2×2 or 2×4!  My young 2.5 year old daughter was counting the spots on the blocks to find what I asked and was using terms properly like square or rectangle.  As a trained math teacher, I really enjoy seeing these connections being made at such a young age!

With some snacks and lots of legos, the kids had a great time!  Each of them were very proud of their creations even if they were the ones from the manuals or those that they came up with out of their own creativity.  Sharon was wonderful and patient in assisting the children, complementary of their creativity and encouraged them to be creative in thinking of their own designs as well as teach them about patterns and following the instructions.  I thought it was a really nice balance.