As much as my daughter loves snuggly reading marathons, she also loves to act the books out, repeat favorite lines, draw and “write” about them, and use toys to extend the story. Building on my LEGO theme this month, here are two of our picture book-inspired LEGO creations.

As a former teacher, I love enhancing our reading with learning and play activities that create real-world connections and build my daughter's big imagination. Plus, if I cannot carve out writing time while the kiddos are awake, building literature-inspired worlds is a worthy alternative.

When all the sets you previously made are thrown into a pile and the instruction manuals are collecting dust, it is time to take what you have learned and create something from nothing!
 
Just like the blank page or screen, I have stared at the LEGO pile with no ideas in mind. At my daughter’s incessant urging, I pick up a couple bricks, then a couple more. And soon enough, we have created Santa’s village or a community library with a neighborhood park or that elusive first draft.
 
If I had not put my butt-in-chair and tried something, Santa would not have had a workshop to build toys, the LEGO kids would miss story time, and my drafts would never have been written.
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Emotions are high at my house. I tell myself it's just my 3-year old’s way of supporting my writing. She’s providing a wealth of inspiration to push a couple manuscripts (inspired by said emotions) to that next level. Here are the books and feelings we’re exploring!