Posted on 19 June 2012 by Susan Syddall
This homemade Lego listening game is SO easy to organise and is very versatile. The level of challenge or difficulty can be changed very quickly to suit the abilities of your child.
Homemade Lego Listening Game
The Objective of the Homemade Lego Listening Game
… is for one player to arrange his/her blocks in exactly the same design/pattern as the other player.
The catch is that players cannot see each others’ blocks/board but must rely only on verbal instructions.
This is a fabulous game for developing both spoken language and vocabulary as well as listening skills!
Materials Needed for the Homemade Lego Listening Game
Lego or Duplo blocks
Homemade Lego Listening Game
A divider so the players cannot see the other person’s blocks/board.
We used a cereal box because that was the closest thing on hand. Can you guess what time of day we played this game? 😮
Actually a cereal box (with cereal in it to weight it down) works really well! Much better than trying to balance books upright, which is what we’ve normally done in the past.
How to Play The Homemade Lego Listening Game
1. Set up the players so they have a divider between them.
2. Give both players the identical sets of blocks. The set of blocks must be identical in regards to size, colour, shape, number of blocks, etc.
Homemade Lego Listening Game
3. One player acts as the instructor for the entire game.
The instructor’s job is to give detailed information of where and how to place each block. The other player must follow the instructions without being able to actually see what the instructor is doing.
The player giving the instructions must describe where to place each block. For example …
Place the large white block in the top left corner of the board so that it is facing across the board.
Place the small blue block on top of the white block so that it is on the right hand side of the white block.
Sound easy? Guess what … it’s harder than it sounds!
Homemade Lego Listening Game
4. Once all the blocks have been placed, it’s time to remove the divider and compare the blocks. Are they placed in the same spots?
For the second round of the game, players change roles.
Variations of the Homemade Lego Listening Game
To make things more difficult, add more blocks of varying colours, shapes and sizes.
For example, instead of just having one blue block, add a couple but ensure they are of different sizes and shapes.
More blocks will require the use of more descriptive language in order to identify the correct block.
The Benefits of the Homemade Lego Listening Game
When playing this game, players engage:
Language skills – giving instructions, asking questions for the purposes of clarification
Maths skills – describing positions of blocks (above, beside, next to, etc), shapes (rectangular), number, comparison, etc.
Social skills – learning to follow the rules and take turns
Listening skills – instructions have to be followed carefully. This is a great game to extend auditory skills.
Fine Motor skills and hand/eye coordination – needed to manipulate the blocks into the correct positions
This game can be played by younger children as well as older children … and adults. It can be very challenging.
Have fun.
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Balloon Yo-Yo
Balloon Yo-Yo
DIY Catapult Games
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Return to the Articles List for other children’s learning activities or children’s book reviews.