If you build it, imagination grows. Sycamore Lane Primary and Elementary School media specialist Kim Brown wanted to bring a Lego Wall to the schools. And she did, with assistance from a grant from the Lumbee River EMC. As a part of the Bright Ideas education program, Brown was one of three winners from Scotland County Schools to receive funding for inventive classroom projects.
In her application, Brown wrote, “Our project is to create an 8x12 foot Lego wall for students to build, create, and expand their thinking. We’ll fill the wall with blue Lego base plates. Students will have opportunities to build independently or use Lego Challenge cards to create projects.”
Brown’s husband installed the Lego Wall in the Sycamore Lane Media Center in February. The school established a Lego club that meets after school. The Lego Wall is an incentive for students who reach reading and behavioral goals in class. Students are already experiencing the joy and educational effects of the project Brown shared.
The installation of the Lego Wall illustrates how Sycamore Lane provides unique learning opportunities for our students. “This Lego Wall is an amazing opportunity for students to build and construct. We’re always talking about STEAM and STEM, so it allows them to have items they can manipulate to create designs they have constructed in their minds,” said Sycamore Lane Primary School Principal Dr. Elizabeth Harrell.
“We are super excited about having the Lego Wall in our building,” Sycamore Lane Elementary School Principal Kachina Singletary said. “Not only does it create teamwork and social skills, but it also fosters creativity, experimentation, and lowers anxiety and stress.” Singletary added that by using the Lego Wall to teach students in a different “out-of-the-box” way, she expects to see the students’ confidence levels soar even higher.
Cheris Hodges, Public Information Officer Scotland County Public Schools