My daughter is very imaginative and she loves pretend play. She also has an older brother, so she has been playing with LEGO bricks for a long time. Back in 2012 when LEGO® Friends first launched, she was so excited to have some LEGO sets that focused on her interests.
Imagine her delight when we opened the mail and we had a LEGO® Friends set to build together!

My daughter is 6 years old and just wrapping up her kindergarten year. She is finally getting to the age where she can follow the instructions in the LEGO book herself. It gives her a sense of pride and accomplishment when she can build and create on her own. She still needs assistance on some of the more complicated steps, and I like that she still needs me for some things. We had a pretty great system worked out where I would find the next pieces she needs, and she would put them in place.

The moment the last piece was in place she said, “Now we have to build somewhere for them to go.” It is a news van after all. We gathered up all the LEGO pieces and sets we already had and we immediately began constructing her version of San Diego. It’s her favorite place to go on vacation, so it makes total sense she wanted to build her pretend play around it. Things got pretty elaborate too. Here’s a collage of her San Diego set-up. It was too big to get into one shot.

We spent almost the entire afternoon on Easter building and playing together. It was good quality time together. She often asks for something that just the two of us can do together. I had forgotten how much fun it is to build with LEGO. I will be adding this to the list of “together” activities. Her pretend play has continued since Sunday and every day she has dedicated her free time to playing with her San Diego set-up. In fact, she has even reignited her brothers interest in LEGO bricks too.

I really like the different sets and elements that LEGO offers, but I think I enjoy the ‘free play’ aspect more. Construction play really lets her channel her creativity and engage in problem solving. The sets are a great jumping off point for your child’s creativity.

I was also excited to learn that LEGO® Friends has teamed up with Girls on the Run® (GOTR), a physical activity-based positive youth development program to inspire girls everywhere to achieve their limitless potential. Girls are using LEGO® Friends sets and characters to tell stories, embrace their differences and find strength in their connectedness.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.