Emmet, the hero of The Lego Movie, seems like an ordinary Lego Minifigure until the Lego world is threatened and he is deemed “special.” As Emmet learns of a secret society of Master Builders and that a prophecy decreed that the “special” Lego would save them from the evil Lord Business, his ordinariness is tested and his kindness and creativity save them all. It turns out, this whole story is playing out in the basement of a home where a son is using the Lego city that his dad built as a hobby.
Emmet and Finn join forces to show that creativity and kindness are the keys to a successful team. Here are a couple of topics to discuss with your kids after you’ve seen the movie:
- ’Embrace what is special about you.’ Vitruvius (voiced by Morgan Freeman) tells Emmet “don’t worry about what the others are doing, you must embrace what is special about you.”
- Embrace your kids’ creativity. The whole storyline is created by Finn, a boy who is playing and using the Lego city built by his dad. When his father (The Man Upstairs) finds Finn “destroying” his well-built city, he criticizes him and then uses the “Kragle” to glue all the pieces together. Encourage your kids to be creative with their art, blocks, Lego bricks and music, even if they aren’t always following “the directions.”
- Kindness is special. Though the “prophecy” may have been made up and Emmet wasn’t really “the special,” what made him different from the other Master Builders was his kindness. (Note how he works with WyldStyle and Unikitty.) His “special power” was when he sacrificed himself for his friends, and they in turn started sacrificing for each other.
Movie-inspired activities
Now that you’ve seen The Lego Movie, try these screen-free activities inspired by the movie.
- Build a Lego fidget spinner. These instructions from the LifesCarousel blog will help you turn your ordinary Lego set into a fidget spinner.
- Make bricks out of Mad Mattr. Kids can build and create bricks of all sizes using Mad Mattr (like kinetic sand that doesn’t dry out) and then build with them.
- Use Duplo Lego bricks to teach the alphabet. Great for PreK learners, write big and small letters on Duplo blocks and have kids match the letters. This is perfect for counting, too, to teach addition, subtraction and other math concepts. (Parents that don’t want to write on their bricks can tape the letters and numbers on.)
- Create on-the-go Lego kits. These helpful instructions from Little Bins for Little Hands will help you create travel Lego kits with challenge cards for your kids to try on road trips.
- Make Lego dinner. From pizza to fruit trays to cupcakes, a whole meal (with recipes included) is planned for you thanks to Toddler Approved blog.
Have a Watch This, Do That idea you want to share with our readers? Send your idea to editor@chicagoparent.com with your suggestion for a movie. We’d love to share your idea on ChicagoParent.com.
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