LEGO® captures all our hearts, at any age. I was reminded of this fact last summer when I unearthed this trunk in the barn. Thirty years ago, my brother and I played with these bricks and sets. There were fights over who could build the best building. There was fun creating cities together. LEGO bricks and sets that have survived 30 years and one house fire.
As a parent to a five year old, it was time to start the journey again. Parents always talk about the late night stepping on a LEGO and how much it hurts. The pain in that instant sucks but, overall the memories made outlive the pain.
History of LEGO
Ole Kirk Christiansen, founder of LEGO was a carpenter from Billund Denmark. He began making wooden toys in 1932. In 1934, his company came to be called “LEGO”, which comes from the Danish phase leg godt, meaning “play well”. It was in 1949 LEGO produced an early version of blocks.
It took close to ten years before the modern brick design was developed. Not a bad length of time for product development. The LEGO Universe we know were patented in January 1958.
Cleaning LEGO
Cleaning these play materials is not something that needs to be done often. If you have a small amount to be cleaned, use a lingerie mesh bag, toss bricks in bag, wash on cold in the washing machine. However, this could take ages if you need to clean all your play materials before passing them onto your child.
Our Process:
Sort by color- Fill a large container with water and white vinegar
- We used the garden hose water. If possible use warm water. Since I was getting help from a 5yr old, I thought it best to do outside.
Let soak for a few minutes, stir and scrub if some are really dirty.- Use a colander to lift out of water and drain
- Have towels ready to dry and then let the sun finish drying them.
- Start playing
Instructions
Keeping instructions–I don’t think anyone has mastered this skill. Luckily for us the internet can save you.
Let’s Build Again is a great source for instructions. You can look up by year and by type. The hardest part is reading the instructions. They have snap shots of the orginal instructions. My 5yr old couldn’t understand them. I think an 8yr old would be able to do it. I was able to find all 6 of our major builds on this site.
Toysperiod.com was another site I used. Here I could scroll through and see many different LEGO packages. The set up is slightly different then Let’s Build Again. I used this as my second source for finding information.
For new sets your purchase for your child, I suggest ziplock bags. Use an Sharpie, write the number on the bag, put instructions and any extra pieces in the bag. This works for the beginner collector as well. If you child collection grows might I suggest lots and lots of drawers.
LEGO Happiness
What fun we had building— Ok, what fun I had building. As I built, my son made up these incredible stories. I listened to the people flying to Hawaii, firemen saving dogs and bears. Building and creating new memories has been a blast with our LEGO play materials.
LEGO Universe is the playtime that has no age limit. When in doubt for a birthday gift, LEGO sets are a good choice. Prices range from about $10 up to a couple $100 depending on the amount of pieces in a set. If you can’t decided and you’re near a store, give a gift card. We loved going into the LEGO Store at Rockerfeller Center in NYC.
Start Creating, Build Memories, Have Fun!
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