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Just like many 8-year-old boys, Rhett Williams has spent his summer days crawling around and playing with snakes and frogs. And his mother Kathy doesn’t mind at all, because he is building them with LEGOs.
Robin Bergeron and Leslie Thibodaux, owners of Bricks4Kidz, are using these time-tested toys to bring the subjects of math, science and physics to children ages 6 through 12. Retired teachers with the Terrebonne Parish School System, they say the children have no idea that they are learning. “They are so involved in what they are building, they don’t even realize the teachers are still there,” Thibodaux says.
The Houma business offers summer camps each week, during which children learn to follow model plans to build different objects from LEGOs. Bergeron says as the children work together, they also learn teamwork, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
“If they make a mistake in the build and it doesn’t work, they will retract their steps and search out a solution together,” says Bergeron. “Once they solve the problem, you can see the sense of accomplishment and pride in the final product.”
The camps feature a different theme each week and begin with a learning discussion. Topics include amusement park rides, construction, transportation, animals, sports, outer space and swamps. “Our wide range of topics will spark the interest in almost any child,” Bergeron says. The campers then use LEGO kits to build objects such as Ferris Wheels, dump trucks, cranes, cars, frogs, fish, alligators and bridges.
“Problem-solving skills are crucial to everyday life. Mechanics, engineers, doctors, architects, etcetera, have to be able to think on their feet to be successful,” Thibodaux says. “Our program prepares them for future occupations as well as to be independent, self-thinking individuals.” The business has tables filled with LEGO pieces of various shapes, sizes and colors so that the children can use their imaginations during free time to build their own objects.
Janet Price, mother of 5-year-old camper Nicholas, says her son often sits for hours playing with his own LEGOs, so she felt this would be a great combination of learning and playing. “It gives him the ability to create something from just a pile of blocks into a working item,” she says. “They are beyond just toys; they are a great learning tool. When he comes home, he wants to build some of the same things he is doing here with his LEGOs at home.”
Thibodaux says creative play is a valuable learning strategy used from early ages to foster imagination and problem solving. In addition to summer camps, Bricks4Kidz plans to offer after-school enrichment classes, in-school field trips, family nights, preschool sessions, specials-needs classes, kid’s night out and adult robotic parties.
Eight-year-old Williams says working with the LEGOs makes learning fun and he likes to bring his objects home. But his favorite part about camp is building motorized objects and then racing his creations against other campers. “If you put a motor on it, it moves. It’s really cool,” he says.
Nicholas Price, 5, plays with LEGO construction at Bricks4Kidz in Houma. The center infuses learning with fun by way of the toy bricks.
