The Family That Plays Together, Stays Together
The Michon family prides itself on being a family that plays together. It all began with a Christmas gift to Thomas, the oldest son of the Michon family. He received a battery operated LEGO train set, which sparked his desire to build and create. Thomas soon entered a building contest, winning the grand prize trip for his entire family to the original LEGOLAND theme park in Denmark. With that trip, younger brother David's passion for LEGO grew and Mom and Dad, Susan and Ted, also jumped on board. Since then, the family has spent countless hours building together and has won several building contests across the country.
They are most proud of a large-scale cityscape built entirely out of LEGO. Ted and Susan believe LEGO has helped their boys develop active imaginations, which they believe are behind their success today. Thomas now attends Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering in Needham, MA. David is a Freshman at Northwood High School in Irvine, CA.
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"Learning the Real Value of Building "
Jack McSweeney
Jack McSweeney, age 8, of San Diego, California, has been a LEGO builder for most of his childhood. An all-around athlete, whiz kid and just genuinely terrific third grader, Jack builds and builds. At school, he daydreams about what to build next, and patiently waits through his after-school program to get home and build.
Jack told his after school friends about his LEGO creations, but they didn't believe he could really build cool things, so one day, he took one of his creations with him. Everyone gathered around to admire it, and one child admitted he had never played with LEGO bricks - giving Jack an idea. He asked his mom and dad if he could donate his LEGO collection to the after school program, because "It's even MORE fun to play with LEGOs together." Jack's school now has a LEGO day for after school students.
When asked the best thing he has ever created, Jack says "I've made a lot of cool stuff, but the best thing is that I've created a place where kids can have fun together - being creative and using their imaginations. I like that the most."
Jack's mom said, "From dexterity to special reasoning, we've always know the value of LEGO building in developing young minds and building a foundation for creative innovation. But it took an 8 year old to teach us their greatest value." ----------------------------------------------------
Katherine Heiberger
As Katherine Heiberger and her children, Brian and Kelly, played with her father’s most beloved collection of LEGO bricks, she was inspired to start a LEGO club for her son’s kindergarten class. A club would allow her family to share the collection of bricks her father amassed during his lifetime, but also use them in a way that was both educational and social.
Heiberger’s vision for the club was simple, but structured. She outlined basic rules of conduct, including a "show-and-tell" element, during which members exhibit and explain their creations. Each time the club meets, parents and kids together explore a new theme, such as "things that fly" or "buildings." Heiberger’s imaginative sessions bring parents and children together in play, something she feels is sometimes lacking in today’s families. Heiberger and the other moms value the club because they know children learn through engaging their imaginations.
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"Laying the Foundation"
Bobby & Kim Bell
Kim Bell, a mother and third-grade teacher from Memphis, Tennessee, is known to her students as "The LEGO Lady." Kim is a passionate believer in the creative benefits of LEGO play and has researched and written countless papers on the positive effects of creative LEGO play throughout her career.
Her 14-year-old son, Bobby, is an avid fan of LEGO and has received a LEGO gift for every holiday since his fifth birthday. He spends hours upon hours building and creating.
Watching Bobby's enthusiasm for LEGO, and seeing his collection of LEGO bricks grow ever larger, Kim had an idea. With Bobby at her side, she created a LEGO Camp at her elementary school, Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal School. The mother and son team produced proposals, brochures, activities and schedules together to get the camp running its first year. The response from children and parents alike was overwhelming - with one week left until the start of the camp, it had already exceeded its registration capacity. Building on three years of solid success, Kim and Bobby introduced a pre-LEGO Camp for first graders last year. Now, each summer Kim and Bobby share a growing collection of more than 25,000 LEGO bricks to inspire the imaginations of young campers.
"What will our community's future hold?" asked Kim. "I won't be surprised to see the engineers, artists, and architects of the future. As a parent and teacher, I can honestly vouch for the appeal, educational value, and researched benefit of playing with LEGO bricks."
Having already completed several LEGO NASA structures while growing up, Bobby hopes to follow his grandfather's footsteps and work for NASA one day. As for Kim, she hopes that as Bobby enters high school this year, "he remembers the foundation that has been laid for him...one brick at a time." |
