Ever heard the “B” word? Bored? Summertime can mean being less busy, and with long days at home with your kids, you want them to stay engaged, busy and continue learning! Red is still going to a summer camp two days a week for social interaction and a little bit of a routine as Baby Girl approaches, but he likes being home! As Chase and I keep working and prepping for our new addition, it can be a struggle to keep Red as busy as we want him to be without being dragged away from our projects every 2.5 minutes (or, let’s be honest… more often than that!) for help being entertained. And what about those days when we’re on the go, visiting relatives, and trying to get those all-important checkups in before our due date. Fortunately, my now 4-year old is mature enough to start building with one of my childhood favorites, LEGOs! I always loved to play with LEGOs, building with the kits, playing with the sets, and generally making new and imaginative creations with the blocks. I even remember my pets trying to walk through my creations and pretending they were monsters. It was so much fun! Now, LEGO has introduced at-home and on-the-go LEGO® JUNIORS suitcases designed to give kids just Red’s age (4-7) a great first building experience with the LEGO brick through fun and easy to build kits.
We received two LEGO JUNIORS kits to help combat summer boredom as well as summer trips away from home (A Fire and Rescue Station and a Grocery Store). While the Grocery store was extremely girly and featured only women, the Fire and Rescue set had a male and female firefighter, which I thought was pretty awesome (Red noticed, too!). Chase, being just as big a LEGO fan as I am (maybe bigger), took it upon himself to help Red build the first kit. The manuals are large, easy to read and Red understood (with just a little help from Daddy) how to look for pieces, identify the colors and place them on the larger ones. 
I’ll have to say, I was surprised how Red’s basic identifying skills developed along with hand-eye coordination and fine tuned-motor skills to a new level in just a few minutes. By the end of the first small set of instructions, Red was a master builder in his own right. Chase was only helping to point to the steps and calling out for pieces – it was pretty cool! I really feel like this activity helped Red build self-confidence, independence and creative thinking. 
By the time one set was complete, Red was clamoring to open the second suitcase and finish the other creations and once the suitcase sets were complete, the fun didn’t end there! Imaginary play within each set took over entire afternoons, and only a few days later, Red was combining kit elements, putting out fires in the grocery store, and having the firefighters purchase ice cream and stow it in their helicopter! I loved watching his imaginary scenarios play themselves out as he combined pieces, built new elements and stayed engaged for hours. 
Since school’s out for the next 6-7 weeks (at least here in Georgia), help arm your kids with imagination and motor-school developing activities that will keep them having fun both at home and on-the-go.
- Create a small jump bag with several small toys that can be grabbed on your way to a restaurant or visiting family.
- Try squirreling away a small bin of toys for a week or so – when the bin re-emerges on a rainy day, your kids will tackle them all over again with new activity.
- Keep your extremely portable LEGO JUNIORS suitcases handy for building fun and imaginary play both at home and on-the-go with easy containment and cleanup.
- Visit your dollar stores for craft materials and inexpensive art supplies to create a stockpile for arts and crafts that can be done both at home and stuffed in your jump bag for longer on-the-go trips
What are some of your best summer activity ideas? Do your kids play with LEGOs? 
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Legos are a staple in our house. My boys play with them for hours and hours.
Invest in some LEGO storage bins. They look like giant LEGOs and can stack on themselves like LEGOs also. They sell them on Zulily every so often at half price. We have two of them. A big one and a little one for minifigures, we also have the giant sorting heard which holds a lot also.
We should have a LEGO building play date! I have plenty for all the kids!
I’m obsessed with building with her so we have a lot of sets. Lol
heard that. I’ve had my eye on the large block shaped ones, but I didn’t know Zulily sold them. Now I’ll watch there, too.
This is so great! Legos are one of the best toys out there, in my opinion. They promote imagination, spacial recognition, and fine motor skills.
While I still think Legos are evil (have you ever stepped on one?!?) my kids LOVE them and these kits are awesome!
Oh, I’ve TOTALLY stepped on them, even my own! We’re trying to make sure they stay in one spot, or when we have enough, I’ll snag a blanket for them to play on.
Both my kids love LEGOS – and I love how it inspires their creativity and imagination. These suitcases are great to take LEGOS on the road especially vacations!
I loved legos! My parents still have my first set and now the grandkids play with them:).
We have so many LEGOs too and the girls love them! Perfect busters for the “boreds” for sure.
My son and husband are Lego fanatics. They have just about all the Star Wars sets. They love the Lego Store at Downtown Disney.
These Lego Juniors Suitcases are pretty cool! My daughter loves Legos, so I will have to get her one.
My son used to be obsessed with Legos. He played with them all the time.
My son is really into the building stage these days and LEGOs are a great way to beat the heat and have some fun indoors. Red is so adorable too!
This is a nice addition to the LEGO products. I am sure it will help with keeping kids happy.
My daughter is all about Legos lately. I know she would adore these Jr sets too!
Those look awesome. I have not seen these.
My son would love the Lego Suitcase. I love watching him build and seeing his imagination go nuts.
We need a Lego suitcase here! My six-year old loves, loves Legos. And I can’t lie, I actually have a lot of fun building Legos myself.
LEGO’s are a lot of fun. The LEGO Junior firestation kit sounds like a perfect size to carry along in the car. It is perfect to have in case someone’s child gets “Bored”.
We are big Lego fans over here. I particularly love the suitcases because all of the pieces have somewhere to go when the fun’s done.
Oh how fun! My kids just love Lego! I haven’t seen these before though, I would love to grab these for my kiddos!
We love our Legos! We all have sets and play with kiddo. We have part of our basement converted into Legoland. A few tables set up, some chairs for us to sit in, too. Its our rainy day or winter weather retreat.
My kids love Legos. I have a huge bin of Legos. I find Legos all over the house.
I am a rabid Lego fan. I have had a lifetime of fun that involves Lego’s and countless creations. These look like must haves for sure.
I have always been a fan of Legos. These suitcases seem super convenient for traveling!
My kids always loved Legos when they were smaller. My son now does Legos robotics competitions in Middle School which are a blast!
My daughter is a huge fan of legos! She’s just learning how to build big structures!
I spent a full decade of parenting trying to find a place to store LEGOs. I think that this comes with its own storage is a genius idea.
I wish this had been an option when my kids were little.
My son is obsessed with Legos, I’m going to have to stop by the store and pick this up. The perfect way to keep him busy this summer.
Aw what a great bonding moment over leggos! I am so happy Leggos are still a childhood favorite!
Lego is always fun to play with. I love these cases to carry the pieces in. I hate stepping on Lego.
Our kids love playing with LEGOs! Those LEGO suitcases look like a lot of fun to play with!
I was really impressed with them. I wish they sold more than just two!
We’re just getting into Legos and there are so many different sets it’s overwhelming. That looks like a great way to get him started. There’s enough there to keep him busy and make cool things
It’s totally overwhelming. And it’s amazing how much some of the sets go for, too.
My kids love Legos. They are perfect for teaching kids to be creative.
We are huge LEGO lovers here! My middle son is totally obsessed with them and always has been. It is one of those toys you just don’t really outgrow!