New York City has enough hot spots to keep you busy for weeks—now there’s one more destination to add to the list for your family trip. The LEGO Group has launched a ‘retailtainment’ NYC store and at 7,175 square feet and two stories, you might want to make an afternoon of it!
The whole family will love the immersive world inside the new store, which blends digital and physical experiences. Head to the Brick Lab where you can build with physical sets and enter a virtual world that brings the walls, floors and ceilings to life with light, sound and music. Scan your build and watch it come to life!
Make sure to stop by the Tree of Discovery for a fantastic photo opp. It’s made of over 880,000 LEGO bricks and took 1,900 hours to construct. The builders want it to symbolize LEGO Group’s commitment to positively impacting the planet. Look closely at the rainbow trunk for hidden details like mini scenes, kaleidoscopes and picture viewers!
Ready for more? Visit the Personalization Studio for fun, unique builds, the Mosaic Maker to create your own personalized mosaic LEGO portrait, or the LEGO Minifigure Factory to create an awesome souvenir for you or a family member. You’ll also find larger-than-life 3D LEGO models throughout the store, including Thor, Spiderman, the Statue of Liberty and Ghostbusters characters.
The new store officially opened on Friday, June 25 at 636 Fifth Avenue in New York City. You can book your in-store experiences now to make your trip extra memorable. And if you can’t make it to the Big Apple, the LEGO Group plans to introduce the immersive concept at more than 100 stores around the world during the next year.
It’s an out of this world collaboration! LEGO Education and NASA have partnered on Build to Launch: A STEAM Exploration Series, a free 10-week lesson series meant to reignite kids in the classroom and educate on science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics. Immersive lessons will focus on the NASA Artemis I mission and what it takes to launch a rocket to the moon.
You can find the series online for free now! The sessions will be grouped into three learning themes: Getting to Space, Testing and Transport and Working in Space. Adding in a LEGO spin, kids will use minifigures to simulate the work of members of the flight and ground crew. There will also be weekly press conferences from the LEGO Education YouTube channel.
Artemis I is the first in a series of increasingly complex lunar missions that will prepare NASA crews for eventual human exploration of Mars. It will include a spacecraft launched on the most powerful rocket in the world, meaning it will fly farther than any spacecraft built for humans has ever flown. During each learning module, kids will learn about the important jobs involved in the launch and work on problem solving and communication. They’ll also prototype, test and build parts similar to the Space Launch System rocket.
If that’s not engaging enough, kids will also have the chance to submit questions to be answered by NASA and animated LEGO Education minifigures! Get ready to blast off for some intergalactic learning with this awesome partnership.
My 6-year-old was excited to make a star out of sticks and string, but as the materials tangled, his frustration spiked. So we took a break and went on a walk together.
“Do you remember when you were learning how to ride a bike?” I said. “You fell down a lot at first, and you got really frustrated sometimes, but you didn’t give up. Now you ride around like a pro. Everything new takes practice, but you always figure it out.”
Childhood is all about growing, on the outside and inside. Tasks adults take for granted—like buttoning a jacket—require practice to master. Every time our kids work through these big and small challenges, they are building their skills for resilience and perseverance. These aren’t fixed traits that kids are born with. Rather, they develop slowly through life experience, practice, and with the support of caring adults.
“Donkey Hodie,” a new puppet series from PBS KIDS, draws its inspiration from Fred Rogers and his mission to help young viewers navigate the challenges of childhood. In each episode, characters set goals, encounter obstacles, explore and test solutions, experience failure, and persist toward their goal, asking for help as needed. While the show is set in the whimsical land of Someplace Else, it models a problem-solving process that kids and parents will readily recognize.
Here are 4 ways parents and caregivers can support this vital effort to help kids build perseverance and resilience.
1. Help Children Name Their Goals
Goals are powerful, even for kids. They want to learn how to tie their shoes, shoot a basket, buckle their seatbelt, write their name, cut with scissors, walk the dog, learn a new game, make a new friend, name all the dinosaurs, build a tower, and find ways to be helpful, and become contributing members of their families and classrooms.
When children can name a small goal they want to accomplish, it can help them focus their attention, explore strategies, and persist when things go wrong. And it helps us, as caregivers, celebrate their successes. “You did it! You learned how to zip up your coat all by yourself!”
2. Help Children Work through Tough Emotions
Sometimes, learning and growing can be really frustrating. A little empathy can go a long way in helping kids find the strength to try, try again. Try a simple phrase like this: “You spent a long time building that tower and then it fell. That’s super frustrating!”
Calming big emotions is a vital step that comes before problem-solving. In the story “Royal Sandcastle Builders,” Donkey, King Friday, and Purple Panda sing about the different ways they practiced calming down after getting frustrated at trying to build a sandcastle. And then they are able to try again! When kids are in the middle of an emotional storm, it’s unrealistic to expect them to brainstorm solutions! But when the storm passes, we can be there to help them think about what to do next.
3. Praise Children’s Efforts & Be Specific
Generic praise—such as “Wow!” or “Good work!” or “Nice!”—is warm and supportive. But descriptive praise is even more powerful because it’s specific and helps kids make the connection between what they are doing and what they are learning.
This language shift can be pretty simple. Just describe what you notice. “Good work” can become “Good work figuring out how to share with your sister.” “Nice!” can become “Nice! I like all the different colors you used in this picture.”
When we offer specific observations, we show our kids that we are paying attention to them. We see their effort. And when it comes to building perseverance and resilience, effort matters more than the outcome.
4. Use Stories to Teach Them about “Yet.”
There’s a big difference, emotionally, between the phrase, “I can’t do it!” and “I can’t do it, yet.” The word “yet” is a bridge between present frustration and future possibility. Stories are a great tool for inspiring kids to persevere, especially when they hear and watch stories about characters who work through challenges. We can also tell children stories about themselves! My kids love hearing stories about how they turned a struggle into an achievement. It helps them feel proud and reminds them that they can do hard things.
Growing up is hard, amazing work. Kids deserve supportive adults by their side, offering encouragement and celebrating all the ways they are growing.
—By Deborah Farmer Kris
Deborah Farmer Kris is a writer, teacher, parent educator, and school administrator. She works on parenting projects for PBS KIDS for Parents and writes about education for MindShift, an NPR learning blog. Deborah has two kids who love to test every theory she’s ever had about child development! Mostly, she loves finding and sharing nuggets of practical wisdom that can help kids and families thrive — including her own. You can follow her on Twitter @dfkris.
PBS KIDS believes the world is full of possibilities, and so is every child. As the number one educational media brand for kids, PBS KIDS helps children learn life lessons, explore their feelings and discover new adventures, while seeing themselves uniquely reflected and celebrated in lovable, diverse characters through television, digital media, and community-based programs.
It’s hard to beat Sesame Street when it comes to classic kid’s entertainment. From Big Bird to Bert and Ernie, these characters are a reliable hit with the smallest members of the household.
Now there’s another way to learn and play, thanks to a partnership with toy companies Little Kids Inc and CreateOn! They’ve launched a number of new products just in time for summer fun.
Sesame Street Splash & Play Water Mat
Little Kids Inc.
The Sesame Street Splash & Play water mat looks perfect for beating the heat. It's designed for ages 18 months and up, with inflatable Elmo characters and a gentle water mist. For tactile play opportunities, the mat includes a push & play water pillow and floating foam characters. You can buy it for $24.99 on Amazon.`
The Monster at the End of This Story Magna-Tiles
CreateOn
Add a Sesame twist to standard Magna-tiles with three new sets! The Monster at the End of This Story set features lovable Grover and a structure set. The interactive toy shows kids Grover has nothing to be afraid of, with help from his friend Elmo. It's available now on Amazon for $39.95, for ages three and up.
Oscar's Garbage Truck Magna-Tiles
CreateOn
Learn eco-friendly tips with The Sesame Street Garbage truck, featuring Oscar and Elmo. Take the truck for a ride and find out ways to help planet earth. Kids can build Oscar's garbage can to put in trash, or set up a conservation scene. It's $49.95 on Amazon for ages three and up.
Hooper's Store Magna-Tiles
CreateOn
Finally, kids can take part in another favorite activity, shopping, with the Hooper's Store set. Big Bird, Cookie Monster and Abby Cadabby are ready to shop and there's plenty of food to find in the store. Plus there's a lesson on the food pyramid as they build a shopping cart. This one's also $39.95 on Amazon for ages three and up.
It’s been over a week since the murder of George Floyd. Are you tired? I’ve seen a lot of you say that the weight of the nation is exhausting right now—the anger, the sadness, the confusion, the constant news updates. The fear that you’re going to say or do something wrong sits heavy on your chest. I ask you to sit with that weight, that exhaustion, that vulnerability. It’s so important to do so now more than ever. Why? Because that’s the weight that our black community has been carrying alone for decades. It’s time to carry that burden with them.
The way that you’re questioning every move you make, every word you say, is what POC have to do every day. Those little things build up. Do you text your friend the night before a job interview to ask them if you should straighten your hair because you’re afraid you won’t get the job if you wear it natural? Do you hide your bottle of water before you walk into a store because you’re afraid they’ll think you stole it? Have you ever had to talk to your kids about what to do if they ever get arrested? And those are just the small, everyday things. But they build up.
I’m probably in the minority when I say this, but now is the time for uplifting, hopeful messages. I’m seeing a lot of you say, “We need some goodness in our lives right now.” And while it’s good for everyone’s mental health to carve out some moments of peace for yourself, so that you can smile even just for a second, it’s important that we sit in the hurt, discomfort, and overwhelm right now. Why? Because if we don’t, then this fire that we all feel right now is just going to burn out. We’re going to go back to our everyday lives after a few days of posting meaningful quotes and this will just be another protest that goes nowhere. We owe it to the black community to feel uncomfortable right now.
So I encourage you to spend some time in the dark. In the hurt. In the pain. In the confusion. In the sadness. In the anger.
Natalie Fuertes is the owner of Industry Gymnastics, a gymnastics facility in NYC that focuses on creating a space that is welcoming to all children, regardless of race, gender identity, or sexual-orientation. She is a proud Nuyorican, racial justice advocate, wife, and mama of two.
LeVar Burton has been busy! Not only has the Reading Rainbow host been selected to host Jeopardy, he has a special new gig: his own book club.
Fable, a social reading app that brings members together to discuss books and build community, is launching the LeVar Burton Book Club. Burton will add three books every month to his Folio, one of which the Book Club will read together.
photo: Courtesy of Fable
Starting out, Burton’s selections are exclusively written by Black authors, many of which he has a strong personal collection. The first three include James Baldwin’sGo Tell It On The Mountain, Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower and The Fire This Time, edited by Jesmyn Ward.
Burton shares, “For my first Fable Folio I selected books that have had a tremendous impact on my life. At a time when Black people had very little representation in the publishing industry, Baldwin delivered a debut novel that introduced to the world an essential voice in American Literature. I invite everyone to join me on FABLE as I am both inspired and energized by the opportunity to not only re-read this story but also share my point of view and hear everyone else’s as we read together.”
Access to Burton’s folio is completely free! If you’d like to access his Book Club, where Burton and the community discuss books together, all you need is a Fable premium subscription ($9.99 a month).
There’s a light at the end of this pandemic tunnel…some days I even need sunglasses! But regardless of how much things may be coming back to “normal,” that languishing feeling can still abound. To help combat the pandemic-induced brain fog, I turn to storytelling games.
Storytelling can be your parenting secret weapon: When you engage your kids with a story, you get perspective and insight into what is important to them. Maybe they make a story about a dragon that gets excluded or a superhero that gets sick. There’s an opportunity there to listen. Through storytelling games, we can give space to our kids to express themselves and share what’s going on.
I love storytelling games because they can:
Energize the simplest of routines
Support bonding & connection
Build social-emotional learning
Boost executive function skills
Encourage creativity in unexpected ways
Playing storytelling games gives kids:
Space to develop their voice
Tools to make then replicate the games and make their own stories independently
Bonding time with you and/or their sibling
Lose your inhibitions about storytelling – just start and let your kids pick up the rest but if you need, here’s a basic recipe for stories:
All Stories Have:
1. Characters
2. Setting
3. Conflict
4. Resolution
So, to create an original story—name a character or two, decide on a location and create a problem. You don’t need it all figured out before you start. The story often will tell itself, and many of these games rely on collaboration. Let go and trust that some kind of resolve will happen!
You Can Play Storytelling Games Anywhere
It can feel overwhelming to think that you have to find more time to play. Guess what? It is there. The possibilities for storytelling exist…when you are in line at the store or walking to school. How about waiting for the playdate at the playground or at the dinner table? There are opportunities to inject these games into the most enervating moments to add that spark and whimsy that we are craving as we crawl our way through the pandemic. For loads of game inspiration, check out our Instagram page.
The One Word Story
Tell a story one word at a time. Each player can only say one word at a time. Go around and try to tell one cohesive story. It is challenging and inevitably funny! This is a playful way to practice impulse control and also just good silly fun! Learn more about the mindfulness benefits of this game and get more tips on how to play here.
Fortunately, Unfortunately
In this game, players build on a single story adding in peaks and valleys into the narrative. They alternate the way they start their contribution with either the word, “Fortunately” or “Unfortunately.” I like to start neutrally, with “Once upon a time” and then build in the alternating words from there. You’ll get automatic drama from those transition words. You can decide ahead of time how many contributions you’ll get so that the story has an endpoint (“We’ll do 5 turns and then you make one up on your own”). This scaffolding is super helpful—I speak from experience—so that the game has a conclusion and you have an out!
The Sound Story
Tell a simple story, add in sounds (like environment noises or exclamations) and then strip away all the words and just leave the sound. See if you can boil it down to 5 essential sounds, which you make while you tell the story. Then tell the story again only using sounds!
The Story Clap
Take turns telling a story, clapping your way from one player to the next. Remember the story recipe (location+characters+conflict). Draw inspiration from books you read. Making a prequel or a sequel to your favorite story is also an awesome place to start. Learn more about how Story Clap works.
Storytelling Games to Get through Parenting Challenges
Sometimes you can circumvent challenging parenting moments by creating a joyful distraction of a story. Or when asking your kid to step out of their comfort zone. Anytime that you are asking kids to do something hard, storytelling comes in handy. Literature abounds with examples of characters that do hard things. Whether The Little Engine That Could or Bumblebee Girl, you can find a character that your child relates to and imagine as if you were them, doing the task at hand.
Nail Trimming & Teeth-Brushing
I like to tell a story in sections, during these most mundane—but necessary—of parentally supervised hygiene tasks. I recommend Chompers, a story podcast expressly for teeth-brushing! When nail-trimming too, I ask my son to pick a location and a character and I start in with the clippers and the story. It doesn’t matter if it makes sense. It’s both a distraction and connection during an otherwise annoying task.
At the Dinner Table
Tell a quick story about the dinosaur that ate the tree…and then your kid becomes the dino, and the broccoli is eaten…maybe! I love to use games like Magic Stew to inspire bravery at the table.
Storytelling at Bedtime
But of course! However obvious it seems to tell a story at bedtime—it can certainly be draining on you. Additionally, too much kid involvement has the opposite effect on relaxation—so my suggestion here is to keep it simple. Set limits, like a timer for the length you want to tell the story, knowing that you can always pick up with the “next installment” tomorrow. Once you know the parameters, ask for input: location, characters, what’s the problem? Then, get cooking on the classic story recipe and let inspiration do the rest!
Jocelyn Greene is a Brooklyn based educator, director and mom. With her company, Child's Play NY, she teaches hundreds of kids a year and is equally joyous adapting fairytales for 4s as she is staging Shakespaere with the teens. Check out http://www.childsplayinaction.com/ for video tutorials on game-based play to do at home!
Get ready for a whole new awesome experience this summer! LEGO Movie World is opening in the LEGOLAND California Resort on May 27—and it’s packed with brand-new rides, attractions, dining options, and so much more.
Fans of the film franchises can take a trip through a brick-filled world on a Triple Decker Flying Couch on Emmet’s Flying Adventure Riding. If that isn’t enough awesomeness for your mini builder, check out Unikitty’s Disco Drop and Queen Watevra’s Carousel.
photo courtesy of Chip Litherland for LEGOLAND Florida Resort
Along with the three new rides, park guests can visit the LEGO Movie-themed attractions: Emmet’s Super Suite, Benny’s Playship and Build Watevra You Wa’Na Build.
There’s no doubt your brick-building kiddos will work up an appetite walking around the awesome adventure-filled park. When the fam is ready to take a break from the rides and other attractions, check out the land’s premiere dining experience Everything is Ramen, savor the sweetness of Cloud Cuckoo Crepes or hydrate yourself at Benny’s Blaster Slushies.
Of course your littles can’t leave this LEGOLAND park without hitting the gift store. The Awesome Shop is packed with souvenirs galore, including plenty of The LEGO Movie T-shirts, mugs and other merch.
Visit the LEGOLAND California Resort website here for info on Annual Passes and online ticket purchase options.
May the 4th be with you! LEGO is helping Star Wars to celebrate this epic holiday with a very special offer—a free Tatooine Homestead micro-build set and a free Imperial Shuttle.
The small-scale plastic brick builder set features the entire Lars family home from Star Wars: A New Hope.
Photo: LEGO
Along with a scene straight out of the film fave, this micro-build also includes a landspeeder, Sandcrawler and studs representing Luke Skywalker, R2-D2, C-3PO, Aunt Beru, Uncle Owen and two Jawas. The 217-piece set is age-graded for builders ages eight-plus and is just over 1.5 inches tall, 3.5 inches wide and 6.5 inches deep.
To get your Star Wars: Tatooine Homestead set for free (while supplies last), purchase at least $85 worth of LEGO Star Wars merch between May 1 and May 5. Visit the LEGO website here for more info on the free with-purchase micro-build.
Wait! That’s not all. Star Wars fans who shop LEGO Stores in-person can score a free Imperial Shuttle set with purchases $40 and more from May 1 through May 5.
Unsurprisingly, the Build-A-Bear and Animal Crossing collection was beyond popular when it launched earlier this month. Now the collab is returning to the workshop with fan faves Isabelle and Tom Nook!
To snag these beary special characters, head to buildabear.com at 9:30 a.m. CST on Tues. Apr. 27 to enter the virtual pre-waiting room for a chance to purchase the collection. You’ll want to make sure you enter before 10 a.m. to be assigned a random spot in the line
When your turn comes up, you’ll be given access to purchase from the Animal Crossing Collection! As long as you join the pre-waiting room before 10:00 a.m. CST you will be randomly assigned a spot in line. If you join after, you will file in at the end of the existing line. If you are selected, you will have a limited amount of time to make your purchase, so make sure your sound and notifications are on.
If you don’t end up making the cut, all is not lost. The Animal Crossing: New Horizons collection arrive in Workshops this summer.
