CLAREMONT THIRD GRADERS EMBRACE LEGOMANIA
The multipurpose room of Sumner Elementary School was a haven of activity on Wednesday morning as many of the school’s third graders were hard at work.
With their yellow builder’s hats and intense focus, the students spent 30 minutes using their imaginations to come up with creations using Legos as part of the National Association of Women in Construction’s (NAWIC) Block Kids Building Program.
Walking around the 8 tables, where 4 to 5 third graders began their creative endeavors, one would have seen Lego constructions that resembled everything from hotels, churches and day-care centers to airports, electric facilities and skyscrapers. Each student received a box of 100 Legos to work with and had to use a minimum of 25 Legos.
“This is a great way to introduce them to construction,” said Peggy Long, a 20-year electrician for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
The program was first introduced on the Sumner campus last year and, according to Ms. Long, the partnership between the school and NAWIC has been a winning combination.
“We were very fortunate to get into Sumner last year and to do it again this year,” she said. “This school has been fantastic and is so excited about the program. The kids are really enthusiastic.”
For third grader Juan Salcedo, who built a hotel—complete with parking area—in 15 minutes, interacting with Legos is one of his favorite hobbies.
“I have a lot of Legos,” Juan said. “Right now I have 6 sets of Legos and I plan to buy more. I might have 20 sets of Legos very soon.”
Sitting right across from Juan was fellow third grader Darren Ireland, who was at work on his electric facility. Not only did Darren build the facility, but he also added a Lego museum to the front of it with rocks representing statues with pieces of aluminum foil on the sides of building as testers for the sun’s heat.
“I want to be an electricity man,” said Darren enthusiastically.
According to Sarah Dirckx, who loves animals and buildings, working on the project gave her the opportunity to use her creative side. The result was a skyscraper that contained blue, red, white and yellow Legos.
“I really like Legos,” she explained. “It’s just fun to use our imagination to build.”
Though the smiles of the students indicated that they enjoyed working with Legos, their creations were also part of a contest in which 3 winners were eventually selected. A judge was at each of the 8 tables recording how the projects fared within the categories of originality, attention to detail, use of provided materials, oral presentation, enthusiasm and their reason for participation.
“It’s been great,” said Jeff Shoemaker, director of modernization projects with Claremont Unified School District and one of the judges. “They’ve had original ideas, good explanations of their ideas and excellent use of the materials. I enjoyed meeting them all.”
Donnalee Monniger, who was another one of the judges, also took delight in the interaction that she had with the students.
“They’re very well spoken, well mannered and polite,” Ms. Monniger said. “I’m excited to see how they progress in the future.”
The students returned to their classrooms as the judges looked over the different projects. After nearly 25 minutes of discussing and voting, the judges then selected their top 3: Kyle Goff, who build a rocket and launch pad; Aaron Reeves, who built an art shop; and Gail Henley, who built a lighthouse. Each of the top 3 winners received a Target gift card as well as a ribbon for their creations.
A few students from nearby tables gathered around Kyle as they shared in the excitement of his first place recognition. The third grader’s project will now be sent on for regional consideration.
“At first I was thinking of building a magic castle but I kept building higher and higher,” he said. “Creating the rocket was my favorite part.”
—Landus Rigsby
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