What Kids Actually Build in LEGO Engineering (Kindergarten to Grade 2)
LEGO engineering, the way we teach it, is a one-hour class where kindergarten through second grade kids design a machine, build it, break it on purpose, fix it and then present it to the room. It is not free play with a bin of bricks, and it is not following the picture on a box. By the end of an eight-week term, every kid in the room has built a working machine of their own design and, more importantly, has learned the habit of trying again. I want to show you what that actually looks like week to week, because "LEGO engineering" gets used to describe a lot of things, and most of them are not this.
What is LEGO engineering, exactly?
LEGO engineering is hands-on mechanical engineering taught with LEGO bricks, gears, axles, levers and pulleys as the materials. Kids learn how simple machines work by building them, testing whether they hold up, and improving them. In our classes it is screen-free. The engineering is in the design cycle: plan, build, test, fix, explain. Bricks happen to be the perfect material for it because a 6-year-old can take apart a failed idea in ten seconds and try a better one, which is exactly what a real engineer does, just with more expensive parts.
I taught elementary school before I ran one, and I can tell you the difference between a kid playing with LEGO and a kid engineering with LEGO is one question. The question is "what does it have to do?" A tower is a tower. A tower that has to hold a library book without falling is an engineering problem. Every one of our challenges starts with that kind of constraint, and the constraint is what turns play into thinking.
What kids build, week by week
Every term is different, and next year's projects are different again, so a kid can stay with us from kindergarten through second grade and never repeat a build. That said, every LEGO engineering term follows the same arc, and here is a representative one.
| Week | The challenge | What they are really learning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Build a structure that stands, then a taller one that still stands | Base, balance, why wide beats tall |
| 2 | A bridge that holds a set weight across a gap | Load, span, testing to failure |
| 3 | Gears: make one turn make another turn | Ratios, direction, cause and effect |
| 4 | A lever or a catapult that launches a soft ball a set distance | Force, fulcrum, measurement |
| 5 | A pulley or crane that lifts a cup of bricks | Mechanical advantage, teamwork |
| 6 | Design a machine of your own that solves a problem the instructor gives you | Planning before building |
| 7 | Build it, break it, improve it | Iteration, productive struggle |
| 8 | Showcase: present your machine to the room and to families | Explaining your thinking out loud |
Notice that the first five weeks are about learning what the parts can do, and the last three are about the kid's own idea. That order matters. Kids need a toolbox before they can invent, and they need to invent before the learning sticks.
When a child in our classes is ready for it, screen-free coding shows up too: coding tiles and simple robots that follow a sequence of physical commands, so the idea of "give a machine instructions in order" arrives before a screen ever does. That is on purpose. Our coding and robotics classes for grades 2 to 5 pick up right where this leaves off.
What "productive struggle" looks like at age six
The tower falls. The gear grinds. The bridge sags in the middle right when the whole table is watching. This is the moment that decides whether a kid decides she is a builder or decides she is not, and it is the moment our instructors are trained for. They do not fix it. They coach the fix. "What do you think happened? What could you change? Try it." Then they step back. I have watched this a hundred times and it never stops being the best part of the hour.
It is also why the person in the room matters more than the bricks. Every one of our instructors is background checked and trained before their first class, and fewer than 10% of applicants are hired. We are not looking for people who can build a cool model. We are looking for people who can watch a 6-year-old fail and know exactly how long to wait before saying anything. That is a teaching skill, and it is the reason our instructors are licensed teachers, retired educators and educators in training rather than whoever is available.
Why we group by age, not by grade band
LEGO engineering is for kindergarten through second grade, and our groups are small and grouped by age. A kindergartner and a second grader can sit at the same table, but they should not get the same challenge, so our instructors scale the constraint: the same bridge, a bigger gap for the older kid. Preschoolers get their own program entirely, Preschool STEAM, because a 4-year-old's engineering looks different and lasts about 45 minutes.
Small groups are the whole model. When a class fills, a waitlist opens, and enough waitlisted kids opens a second section when the school has the space. We would rather run two small classes than one big one, every time.
Where the class happens and what it costs
LEGO engineering runs right after dismissal at your child's school, one hour a week, eight sessions a term, in fall, winter and spring. Your child walks to the program room like any club, the instructor checks them in from the roster, and the building starts within minutes. Pickup is at the door your school uses for after-school, authorized adults only, checked against the roster every time. This term we are at 20+ partner schools across Portland Public Schools, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Tigard-Tualatin, Lake Oswego and North Clackamas, plus private schools and community sites, and four of those schools already have waitlists.
The price is $285 per eight-week term, plus the enrops service fee at checkout. Families who register for the full year pay $720 for all three terms, which holds their seat for winter and spring. Everything is included: the LEGO, the kits, the materials. Need-based scholarships from the Journey to STEAM Scholarship Fund are available in every program, so the class looks like the school.
What parents tell us
"This is perfect for the kid that wants to build more than the kits, and is interested in engineering and how stuff works that we, as parents, aren't necessarily experts in." That came from the parent of a 5-year-old, and it is the most common thing we hear. Parents know their kid loves to build. What they want is someone who can take that love somewhere. A kindergartner at City View Charter put it more directly: "I never want Lego Club to end!"
Frequently asked questions
What ages is LEGO engineering for?
Kindergarten through grade 2. Preschool STEAM covers ages 3 to 5, and coding and robotics picks up in grades 2 to 5.
Does my child need to know anything about LEGO or engineering first?
No. Every program starts at zero. A beginner leaves with a finished machine, and a kid who already builds at home goes further.
Is there screen time?
No. LEGO engineering is fully hands-on. Screen-free coding with tiles and robots appears when kids are ready, and it still has no screen.
What does my child need to bring?
Nothing. We bring every brick, kit and material. Kids bring curiosity and a snack if the school allows it.
How much does it cost?
$285 per eight-week term, or $720 for the full year of three terms, plus the enrops service fee at checkout. Scholarships are available in every program.
My school does not have Journey to STEAM. Can we get it?
Yes. One email from a parent or PTA leader starts a program at a new school, and we send you the email to forward. See how to bring Journey to STEAM to your school.
Give a kid a constraint, a bin of bricks and someone who knows when to stay quiet, and you will be amazed at what she builds. We see it every week.
With Grace and Gratitude,
Dr. Arielle Hammond, Ed.D.
Ready for the next step?
Dr. Arielle Hammond, Ed.D. is a former school principal and the founder of Journey to STEAM, the Portland metro's principal-founded STEAM enrichment program: LEGO engineering, robotics and coding for ages 3 to 12 at 75+ schools and community sites across four counties. Teach For America alum, principal at 24, Ed.D. from Lewis & Clark. More about Arielle and the team.
