With LEGO Digital Designer you can design and create your very own Mindstorms robot. 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars Brick by Brick: How LEGO Rewrote the Rules of Innovation and Conquered the Global Toy Industry Brick by Brick takes you inside the LEGO you've never seen. (first published January 1st 2013)Drop in for Kids Read, a book group for kids in grades 2 & 3, which meets on the last Friday of the month, October – June. We meet in the Craft Room from 4:00-5:00 p.m. to discuss that months book, have some fun and also talk about what we’re reading on our own. Copies of the book are at the Circulation Desk. Light refreshments will be served. The Reading Club (TRC) is a book group for kids in 4th and 5th grade with an adult. It meets on the first Monday of the month, October – June. Copies of the book are available at the Circulation Desk for you to check out about one month before each meeting. Both adults and children should read the book then drop-in to enjoy the discussion.
Join us for Books & Bites, our middle school book group for kids in grades 6 and up. Both kids and adults should read the book and then drop in to join the discussion. We’ll also talk about everything else we’re reading and decide which book to discuss next. Participants are encouraged to bring a question they have about the book, an interesting fact about the author or other trivia related to the book to share with the group. Relax with friends after a long week of school and join us in the Youth room to play Magic the Gathering and other games. Join our local experts and learn to play, get advice, and face off in a few friendly games! Bring your decks, or borrow ours if you are just learning to play. Meets the first and third Saturday of the month from 2:00 – 4:00 in the Quigley Youth Room. Join our monthly LEGO Club for school age children in Kindergarten and up. Meeting on the first Wednesday of the month in the Craft Room from 3:00-4:00 p.m. Drop by to design and build your own creations using our LEGOs.
Since LEGOs may pose a choking hazard, DUPLO bricks will be available in the Storyhour room for children under 5 years old. Participation at the LEGO Club will be on a first come, first serve basis and the group may be limited due to the size of our Craft Room. Meets the second Thursday of the month from 6:30 – 7:30 in the Children’s Room. A fun-filled evening of chess for kids over the age of 6! Come to play with a friend or meet a new partner. Volunteer chess players from Wellesley High School Chess Club will be on hand for anyone who wants some instruction and tips. No need to sign-up for this informal and fun chess club which meets on the second Thursday of each month. Parent participation is welcome. Please sign up if you would like to receive email reminders of these events. Join us one Sunday a month in the Children’s Room from 2:00 – 3:00 to learn the art of knitting, crocheting and other yarn work. Bring your own or use something from our stash of yarn. For kids ages 7-17 and their grown-ups who are involved in or wish to know more about the art of knitting or crochet.
Open to knitters and crocheters of all skill levels, especially absolute beginners.For more advice on fun stuff to do with your kids, from ridiculously overqualified experts, check out the rest of our 940 Saturdays. You want to introduce your kid to the wonders of LEGO, not just because they’re awesome little blocks that foster creativity, but because you look way less ridiculous playing with them if there’s a kid sitting next to you. Chris Steininger can help. It’s his job to travel the country constructing everything from a life-sized model of Buster Posey to a gigantic X-Wing Fighters made out of tiny plastic bricks. Incidentally, he doesn’t look at all ridiculous if he does all that without a kid sitting next to him. “I was one of those LEGO nut kids who was really into it and always building crazy stuff,” Steininger says. “I got my father involved with LEGO growing up. He would actually come home and build with me.” In the world’s best father/son business story, his dad loved building with his son so much, he went on to become a Master Builder for the company.
Now, both Steininger and his father are 2 of 7 Master Builders in the world. The chance of your kid joining their ranks might be limited (and your chances are even worse — no offense), but just playing with the stuff improves everything from spatial recognition to problem-solving to motor development. Here are some of Steininger’s tips on getting started and getting awesome. Engage A Toddler’s Natural Inclination For Chaos Steininger had his son and daughter playing with the LEGO-precursor DUPLO bricks by the time they were 2-years-old. Those are big enough that can’t get lodged in a nose (or a windpipe), and they’re easy to manipulate with digits that are still more fat than muscle. “When [my son] Chase and my daughter Ella were young, the best part about playing with DUPLO was they got to knock it down. The faster I could build that tower, the faster he’s tearing it down. That’s just good family time at a very young age.” Little Kids Stack, Bigger Kids Build
“I’d say 5 to 6 range, they’re going to start to, start actually making things,” says Steininger. Once you notice your kid wants to be Bob The Builder (instead of Bob, Destroyer Of Worlds), it’s time to get them some “system bricks,” which is LEGO Nerd for “the classic ones you grew up with.” Once they get their mitts on pieces like the wheels with tires and window frames, just building towers is going to feel so 2014 to your kid. When you first move beyond basic sets and start working on specific builds, don’t worry if your kid seems impatient. If the box shows an awesome LEGO Star Wars Tie Fighter, they’re going to want the completed one now, now, NOW! and not the one that looks like it was already destroyed by the Rebel Alliance. “At a younger age you might want to help them build the model quickly, so they can then start playing with the model and the mini figures,” he says. You can still involve them in the building process, which sets seeds for future curiosity.
Give Them Problems To Solve Here are a few games that Steininger played with his kids when they were younger: Ain’t No Party Like A LEGO Party “There’s nothing more exciting for a kid than to be able to show off their creation and have an audience of their peers,” says Steininger. “It is definitely fun for them rather than just building at home by themselves.” He suggests inviting some of your kid’s friends over, dump a big pile of LEGOs in front of them and say, “I need you guys all to build your favorite animal.” Stand back and watch their tongues stick out in deep concentration. Try not to judge the results too critically. Once your kid has gone from stacking to building, the next step up is building sideways. “Just about every kid has some sideways-building bricks in their assortment,” he says, referring to bricks with nubs on both the top and the sides. Show your kid how to build off them to create design features, like the structural soffit on a mid-century modern home or textures, like the zits on a face.