Earlier in this week I shared a really cool LEGO fraction activity we did over the weekend and I bet you thought I might just be sharing a few more fraction activities. Well, they will come late. ( Yes, I do have a few more.) Just before we started working on fractions we explored some of the geometric concepts he was working on. I shared with you a LEGO activity and an alien craft that we did at home to support those geometry concepts. Somehow the exploration of open and closed polygon shapes slipped through the cracks. I thought it would be a great post to share with you today.
Open and Closed Shape Hockey
It was important that we not just build open and closed polygon shapes using the many LEGO we have. Interacting with the shapes by exploring them was really important.
We started by building some shapes that were open and closed with LEGO. They did not have to big shapes, but they did need to big enough to hold the button we were going to use for the hockey game.
Once the polygon shapes were created, we tested out played the hockey game. The goal of the game was to flick, push, or move a button with an ice cream spoon without having it lift off the table.
The button could be placed right beside the opening or on the other side of the table. The goal was not to see if we could get the button in the shape with one move. The goal was to slip the button into the open shapes.
Why Did We Explore Polygon Shapes This Way?
Wait a Minute! Can’t you just see that polygon shapes are open or closed? Yes, you sure can! The purpose of this activity is for children to place in the visual and muscle memory information that will help them remember the concepts.
We could have simply drawn open and closed polygon shapes or worked on a worksheet on the concept. My son and many other children seem to learn best through exploring math concepts with their hands. They seem to own the information and can picture it long after they have worked on it.
That is why we built a LEGO graphing workspace, fraction workspace and worked on side and vertices riddles with LEGO. That is why we have been working with all kinds of learning concepts with his hands since he was very little.
Here are some other LEGO learning activities we have done:
Geometry Riddles Solved with LEGO
Valentine Ideas – Graphing with Candy Hearts and LEGO
If you do try any of the above LEGO learning activities, please leave me a comment below telling me about it or share a picture of it on my Facebook page.
