As it turns out, 20 Fun Activities for Learning with LEGOs is just the beginning when it comes to the educational possibilities of this classic toy. We recently discovered more via Pinterest, including the following 10 LEGO math activities. Click the link below each picture for more details on how to complete these activities with your kids.
Lego Structure Math
Assign a numerical value to a selection of bricks (more for older students, fewer for young students). Have kids build a structure with the bricks, then add up the value of the structure. You could also assign monetary value for each brick for students learning about money. Visit the link below for more details about this activity, and accompanying printables.
This post from a teacher and blogger includes several great ideas for teaching different math concepts, plus free printable worksheets to download and use with each activity. Topics covered include fractions, square numbers, and mean, median, mode, and range—all with LEGOs!
In this activity for younger students, students are challenged to create patterns and practice spatial awareness and geometry skills by building taller and shorter towers with LEGO or DUPLO bricks.
Use LEGO bricks to practice skip counting by 2s. Start with a brick with 2 studs, then find one with 4, and so on. When you run out of bricks with enough studs, make your own by adding the studs on several bricks together.
Have kids roll numbers with a 12-sided die, then build a tower using only that number of bricks. This is a good activity for preschool and kindergarten students, although if they’re likely to put small bricks in their mouths, you may want to use larger LEGO or DUPLO bricks, or supervise this activity carefully.
Use this activity to explore graphing a series of data. In the example below, students sorted small candies by color, then arranged the quantities of each color on a graph using DUPLOs.
Grouping is a precursor to learning multiplication. Use LEGOs to help students visualize number groups and they’ll soon be well on their way towards multiplying larger numbers.
This activity for preschool age children helps them begin to recognize and make patterns, an important early math skill. If you’re curious why pattern-making is important, check out this post on another surprisingly educational toy.