School me: LEGOs

[dr.girlfriend]

So, we have just had the giant Duplo blocks so far, but I think DS is raring to make the jump to "real" LEGOs. It all seems so complicated, should we just go with a starter set? Do you buy the little characters individually (he would love the X-Men, but on Amazon they only seem to come with the complicated vehicle kits). Is every kind of LEGO compatible (e.g., the Star Wars ones work with LotR ones work with regular ones). Is 400 pieces a good size for a starter kit? It sounds like a lot, but if they are tiny I can imagine it not going very far.

[monad]

www.amazon.com/LEGO-Ultimate-Building-Set-Pieces/dp/B000NO9GT4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1353288509&sr=8-3&keywords=lego+blocks

My 4.5 year old has been having a good time with this set since August. I'm itching for more, but she seems happy.

[luvmagoldn]

Ditto Monad. We started with the big bucket o'Legos first. H was really upset earlier this year when he spent $$ on the dinosaur park Lego set. He spent a lot of time with the boys putting it together and it was great. Untill they started taking it apart and carrying things around the house, scattering pieces everywhere...

Until that point they would build something then take it apart and build something else. They didn't understand the concept of the them sets where you put it together and it pretty much stays together. H now says they have to wait a couple more years before he will try again.

[knitty]

The Creator sets are good, too.

[pierogigirl]

They also make advent calendars if you want to do something before Christmas (if you celebrate).

[elocrates]

The starter set monad linked is the one we have. DS1 (4.5 yo) loves it. We also have several creator sets (vehicles, etc.) which he also enjoys. Like luvmagoldn mentioned, they get taken apart and mixed in with the other legos. It was initially frustrating, but we have a rule that all the legos always stay in the same area and get picked up after every use so pieces don't get lost. We kept the instructions to the sets and re-build them frequently.

Also, to your question, yes, all the different set pieces fit together.

[Redpoppy]

The problem in our house is as soon as DS was big enough for the real Lego, I renewed my childhood love of them. We have a lot. Some are "mine" but he still plays with them. They get rebuilt a lot.

DS is 4 and starting to really help with building the kits but he can mainly help with the simpler kits. The ones meant for older kids have a lot more of the flat pieces and such that are difficult for little fingers. There are some small sets of just Lego figures with a few side things available at the Lego store. One is a beach set and the other is a rock band.

A couple other fun sets that DS can build with help:

shop.lego.com/en-US/Police-Building-Set-4636

shop.lego.com/en-US/Safari-Building-Set-4637 (sold out)

shop.lego.com/en-US/Fun-with-Vehicles-4635?s=4654138 (A little more complicated. DS is getting this one this year.)

The Spiderman set breaks too much. Drives me nuts. I should grab some extra pieces to fortify it but for some reason I haven't.

This Wolverine set should stay together fairly well. You may have to pop to helicopter blades back on though it looks stronger than other helicopters: shop.lego.com/en-US/Wolverine-s-Chopper-Showdown-6866

This Loki set should be pretty solid too: shop.lego.com/en-US/Loki-s-Cosmic-Cube-Escape-6867

[h]

We have a crapload--a big bucket of blocks, plus a bunch of the Star Wars, Harry Potter, Ninjago, and superhero sets. They are all interchangeable. We also often buy the people separately if our kids want a particular character. We have been known to buy the $5 key chain people at the Lego store, then remove the key chain part to get the guy we are after.

We have the Wolverine helicopter set, and my kids love it. They also love all of the Avenger sets, especially the one that comes with Hulk. The Captain America motorcycle set is a good small one if you want a little set that comes with a fun character.

[WhatYouSee]

Very timely question - I just read this post on alphamom this morning: alphamom.com/parenting/young-child/that-way-madness-lies-introducing-legos-to-your-child/

[Redpoppy]

Another suggestion is to pick up a TV tray or two. Ikea has some nice cheap ones. They make building and moving so much easier as pieces aren't rolling around on the floor and when we want him to clean up it just means getting everything on the tray to move versus collecting random pieces from everywhere on the floor (he often keeps them on the tray entirely).

That article posted is pretty accurate. I never thought of stashing a creator set in my purse. Definitely going to start.

[holly116]

Nov 19, 2012 13:52:58 GMT -5 WhatYouSee said:

Very timely question - I just read this post on alphamom this morning: alphamom.com/parenting/young-child/that-way-madness-lies-introducing-legos-to-your-child/

I was just going to suggest this. Amalah has some great advice.