O-Shaped Track - Looping

Ask the children if there’s anything they do many times a day or week (e.g., brushing their teeth, showering, cleaning their room).

Tell the children that they’re going to play another game!
Model a sequence of hopping, jumping, running, walking backward, dancing, spinning, or other actions in a circle.
Ask the children to copy what you’ve just done and to repeat (i.e., loop) the sequence at least twice.

Tip: For younger children and beginners, limit your loop to just one or two actions.

Ask the children to combine curved and straight track pieces to make an O-shaped train track (six curved and four straight pieces is recommended).
Using the building cards, have the children build two or three places they’d like to visit on the train (see sidebar for an example).
Let’s go on a day trip!

Use some LEGO^® DUPLO^® figures as passengers.
Tell the children that the passengers would like to have a picnic in the forest and then visit the beautiful castle.
Can you help the passengers take the train to the forest and then to the castle?

Tell the children that the passengers enjoyed their trip so much that they’d like to do it again!
Talk with the children about how they could help make this happen.

Ask questions like:

• Will you be able to help the passengers take the same trip again? How? (The O-shaped track creates loops.)
• Which action bricks will you use and why?

Encourage the children to build a double-ended track next to the O-shaped track.
Talk about the difference between the two types of tracks.

Ask questions like:

• What’s the difference between these two types of tracks?
• Will you be able to repeat the same journey on the double-ended track? Why or why not?

Evaluate the children’s skills development by observing if they’re:

• Observing and describing objects and events
• Asking questions about concepts related to science and technology
• Identifying cause and effect relationships