Using LEGO SERIOUS PLAY with children

I am often asked this question: 1) "Can I use LSP with children and if yes 2) from which age-group and 3) is the core process different with children?" My answer: 1) YES, 2) 6 - 7 year old 3) Not really!

When using LSP with children at this age ONE thing we do different is to give them the opportunity to "just play" with the bricks before going into the classic skills building. Secondly the duration of the session is max 45 - 60 minutes and obviously we only do individual builds (AT1).

When facilitate with young children I position LSP more as a game (LEGO SERIOUS PLAY) and games have rules. For this game we have 4 rules:

Rule 1: We all follow the same process - introduced using the classic tower

Rule 2: We build stories and hard to see stuff - such as feelings

Rule 3: We tell the story about our LEGO model to the group

Rule 4: We listen to each other's stories and respect them

Expressing thoughts and feelings

Recently I had the opportunity to deliver the Foundation Training to a group of "educators" from AMIMONI a non-profit organization in Greece. Amimoni is a parents association for people with multiple disabilities and visual impairments (MDVI).The newly trained LSP facilitators work with the Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) program, which includes developing projects in the community, in order to facilitate the creation of a more inclusive, friendly and supportive environment for EVERY child. They want to use LEGO®SERIOUS PLAY® (LSP) to make schools more inclusive and help children—especially those with disabilities—express their thoughts and feelings by building with the LEGO bricks.

The 4- day Foundation training this time included a 5th day, where we ran 2 x 50 min. LSP sessions with two classes of 6 - 7 year olds. The images are from the sessions. The topics we explored were Happiness and Friendship.

Creating a safe space for expression

In collaboration with the Association of Master Trainers, Manali Mitra’s Blocks to Unblock Studio is working on a pro-bono LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® project for children living in a shelter in need of care and protection.The goal is to create a safe space for expression, fostering emotional awareness through storytelling and inspiring future aspirations. A 12-year-old boy with a dark past initially built in silence and barely spoke. But over the last few sessions, he slowly began to open up. Before the summer break, the children were asked to build a model reflecting one key takeaway from the past four LSP sessions. Here’s his story.

Resources

LEGO Education earlier distributed a LSP product for children. It was called "Build To Express. On seriousplay.training/community you can find these resources:

• Coffee chat recording about using LSP with children
• Build to Express resources available for all to use

Sincerely,