Be Good. Do Good. {4 LEGO® Inspired Charitable Organizations}

BrickSmarts is getting ready to launch it's community outreach program called BrickHearts.  We have contacted various non profit organizations in the Tampa Bay area, and are currently working to put together after school Lego® Clubs serving kids in need.  This has been my favorite and most exciting part of growing our BrickSmarts brand!  On the surface Lego bricks are fun toys that provide hours of entertainment for builders young and old.  But the reality of it is, Legos are educational, and help to build skills that growing kids need.  My kids have been blessed to have access to these amazing little building blocks since a young age, but unfortunately due to cost, or accessibility many kids do not.  Here are a list of 4 non-profit organizations currently working to share the wonder and magic of Legos with all kids!  I can only hope that BrickHearts is able to replicate the great work that these organizations are doing.

1.  The Giving Brick based in Kansas City Missouri.  Working hard since December 2014, The Giving Brick founded by Matthew Gould, has given away thousands of bricks for kids in foster care.
The Giving Brick shared this beautiful statement in a feature with BrickSet.com in 2015, stating

“We wanted to give our LEGO sets to kids who had little else to call their own and needed an escape from the challenges life was throwing at them."-Matthew Gould
 

The Giving Brick accepts donations of Legos in any condition.  They also take direct donations for their worthy cause.  Check them out at the link below.
http://thegivingbrick.org/index.html






2. Creations for Charity , founded by Nannan Zhang in 2010, is a nonprofit organization that hosts a fundraising event from October to November each year.  Builders from all over the world donate custom made Lego creations to sell and raise money to buy Lego sets for underprivileged children during the holidays.  In 2016, Creations for Charity was able to sell over 100 customized builds, in turn raising almost $14,000!  This money was used to purchase an incredible amount of Lego sets for underprivileged children.  Check out their inspiring work here: http://creationsforcharity.org  And if you are a Lego Artist maybe consider donating your creation for this year's fundraising event!

3. BrickDreams, is an organization based in Folsom, CA.  It's founder Bailey Snow, is an inspiring teenager who recently handed the reins of his charity to 12 year old brothers Lleyton and Kyle Rutz.  These boys are keeping the vision of the organization alive by packaging up donated Legos in tennis ball containers.  The Legos are then donated to kids in need, primarily kids affected by domestic violence.  Well done boys!  You are an inspiration to us all!  Stay up to date on all of their accomplishments here:
http://www.brickdreams.org

4. Brick Recycler, another California based organization take used Lego bricks and donates them around the world.  Here are just a few of their generous donations:

• Help One Child and Compassion (for foster children)
• Orphanages in Mexico and Honduras
• Hands of Hope (for Zimbabwe orphanage)
• Children of Haiti

Read more and donate by following this link: http://www.brickrecycler.com

We are moving closer to launch of our own community outreach program BrickHearts.  You can stay up to date with our progress on the BrickSmarts website.  If live in the Tampa Bay area and would like to volunteer with us, or have an idea for a BrickHearts project, send an email to info@BrickSmarts.com!  We would love to hear from you.  Let's share the gift of Legos with children everywhere...Be Good, Do Good!

BrickSmarts Hosts MOMs Club of Westchase Playdate

Wednesday, BrickSmarts had the awesome opportunity to host a playdate with the MOMs Club of Westchase to talk about using Duplo Legos as a learning tool.  This playgroup is a valuable local resource for any mom who is looking for kid friendly activities, friendships, and opportunities to socialize!  What a GREAT group of moms and kids!  

As I talked to some of the moms in this group, I saw myself 5-6 years ago.  I couldn't help but think about how important being part of a mom’s group was, when I became a new mom.  When my oldest son Dylan was born, I joined a newborn group hosted at the maternity hospital where I delivered.  I’m pretty sure I started attending as early as 3 days after we were released from the hospital.  As a new mom, I was terrified to leave the house with my new bundle of joy.  I was paranoid about germs…the rain…strangers.  I remember sitting in a circle and listening to the other sleep deprived mothers, ask questions about nursing, pooping, sleeping, breathing, and it was such a relief to know that I was not alone.  I was not alone in the fact that I was clueless how to breastfeed, I was clueless how to calm my screaming baby, I was clueless how to feel like myself after nine months of sharing a body with another human being.  

I participated in various mom’s groups until my youngest son was 2 years old.  Honestly it was the best way to meet other moms.  I met one of my closest friends in a mom’s group.  After about 20 minutes of talking with her, we realized that our kids were exactly 1 day apart in age, we drove the same exact car, and we lived less then 1 mile from each other.  It was an instant connection and we are still close friends 7 years later.  The benefits of Moms’ groups are endless!  They are the perfect place for first time moms, and moms with multiple children to socialize and support each other.  They provide safe spaces for infants and toddlers to explore new environments and interact with other children.  

For BrickSmarts, it was a perfect opportunity to spread the word about our new small business.  We are currently working to expand our inventory to include Dulpo sets due to demand.  Just like their mini counterpart…there is LOTS of life left in them, long after the kids out grow them.  Check our website and social media regularly for newly added sets!  www.BrickSmarts.com

5 Simple Ways to Use Duplo Legos for Learning

Lets face it, kids LOVE Legos.  And for most, their exposure and their affinity for Legos starts very young.  Even in the few year that my boys have been playing with Legos, the variety of Duplo sets has exploded!  Everything from Jake and the Neverland Pirates to Jungle Animals, the Duplo sized bricks are perfect for little fingers.  A couple years ago, after my kids had expressed a strong interest in Legos I started looking on our local Craigslist for Duplos.  I easily found someone selling a LARGE rubbermaid bin filled with pieces for around $45.  With a little convincing of my hubby, we bought them and brought them home.  The man that I bought them from was so happy to get them out of his garage.  His kids had out grown them and he was looking to clear out the space.  Win, win.  As a craigslist purchase I wanted to be sure to clean them thoroughly before the kids could get their hands (or mouths) on them.  I filled the bathtub with warm water, a capful for bleach, some dish soap and a cup of distilled vinegar.  I swished the Duplos around and let them sit over night.  In the morning I rinsed them and let them dry on a bath towel for a few hours.  The kids have since had endless hours of fun with this inexpensive bucket of Duplos.  Even now that they are old enough for the small Lego pieces they often prefer to build with the Duplos!

About a year ago I stumbled upon some Pintrest posts about how to use Duplos for learning.  I thought what a brilliant idea!  If these little blocks can captivate my kids attention for hours, why not begin incorporating some intentional learning into their play?  Here are some ideas that stood out to me.  You can follow the links listed to check out additional play ideas.

1.  Sorting Pieces by Color, Shape, and Size:  Encourage your little one to create piles of bricks that are similar.  Example: Place 3-5 different colored blocks on the floor help them sort pieces by color asking to name the colors while they place them into the pile.  Repeat the game while sorting bricks by shape (squares, rectangles, circles).

2.  Matching Pieces:  Challenge your kiddo to find matching bricks based on size, shape, and color.  You can do this by tracing several Duplo bricks onto a piece of paper or cardboard.  Have them find a match from a pile of mixed bricks.  There are a variety of free printable downloads online as well if you don't want to make one yourself!

3.  Creating Patterns: You can create endless patterns with the Duplo bricks and have your child copy the patterns, continue the patterns, or create their own patterns.  Make patterned towers or simply arrange rows or mosaic patterns based on your child's age and ability.

4.  Counting Numbers:  You can use Duplos to help foster your child's ability to sequence and recognize numbers.  Use blank label stickers, or masking tape to create a label for your bricks.  Label them 1-10.  Mix them up in a pile and encourage your child to build a tower with blocks in ascending (1-10) or descending (10-1) sequence.  You can also ask you child to build a tower using a certain number of blocks.  Example: "Jonny build me a tower of 7 blocks."  Jonny then has to count out 7 blocks to build his tower.

5.  Addition & Subtraction:  As your child gets older and begins to progress towards practicing math skills.  Legos are a great way to reinforce math concepts such as addition and subtraction.  Practice adding and taking away bricks to demonstrate the concept of addition and subtraction.  Make up
word problems that incorporate using the bricks as everyday objects.  Example:  "Jonny has 3 pieces of chewing gum, Sally eats one piece.  How many does Jonny have left?"  Relating numbers to actual objects that a child can physically see, will often time make it easier for them to understand the concept.

As you can see from this very short list of ideas on how to use Lego Duplo bricks, the possibilities are endless.  You can see these ideas and many, many more by clicking the links below.  Some of the links also provide free downloadable printables for you to use.  Happy building!

http://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/ten-frame-math-printable-make-ten/
http://mominspiredlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Lego-Duplo-Counting-and-Patterning-Cards.pdf
http://www.playdoughtoplato.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ADDITION-LEGO-CARDS.pdf

http://frugalfun4boys.com/2016/09/24/printable-roll-write-count-mats/
http://www.amomentinourworld.com/2014/10/learning-lego.html

Check out all of our Refurbished Lego Sets at www.BrickSmarts.com!