The thesis Playing with Lego Blocks in Preschool consists of a theoretical and an empirical work. In the theoretical part of the thesis I dealt with the meaning of play, the material of play, the role of educators and the use of LEGO bricks. I introduced the characteristics of play and defined the toys that children use to play in kindergarten. I examined the importance of play in different areas of the kindergarten curriculum and the role of educators and peers in play. I ended the theoretical section with a description of LEGO blocks, why they are important in the preschool years, and briefly described how to construct with them.
The main goals of the empirical work were to find out how playing with LEGO bricks differs in the first and second age groups, what role educators play in playing with LEGO bricks, and in what ways LEGO bricks are still used in kindergartens. I was interested in how playing with LEGOs differs by age group, what role the educator plays and how she motivates the children to play with LEGOs, how she gives the children the building task, and what types of games the educators still use LEGOs for.
Based on the results, I found that there are differences in playing with LEGOs between the 1st and 2nd age groups, that younger children build individually on a one-to-one basis, while older children already participate in smaller groups and build larger units. It has been my experience that the educators do not interfere with the children's play unless there is a conflict or they are asked by the children to join in. The building task is given to the children in an interesting and understandable way so that the child is motivated and more engaged in building with LEGO bricks. The research results show that educators are aware of the versatility of LEGO bricks and therefore use them for other activities from other curriculum areas (e.g., to classify them, learn about feelings, create musical patterns, etc.) and offer them to children not only for playing.
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