Joy Sasser

I am a homeschooling mom of 4 kids and the marketing director for Sasser Law Firm.  I am also a volunteer with the UboraTZ Foundation and Safe Families For Children.

This summer 2 of my boys (12&15), my father, and I will be going through Project Child and UboraTZ to Siha Leadership Academy in Tanzania to teach problem solving through creative and critical thinking using literature. As building blocks of imagination and problem solving, LEGO materials are a powerful, cross-cultural, and logical resource to teach the foundational elements of a story. Through simple designs we hope to help these students become active learners by constructing things in the real world, in the world of the written story, and in the world of their imaginations. By giving form to the five elements of a story, rote learners can blossom into creative thoughtful students through combining logic and reasoning with playfulness and imagination. This introduction to LEGO can under-gird future math and science teaching so that these new skills of learning through play can also be nourished into a robust STEM program.

My boys are avid LEGO builders and I have used LEGO to teach literature in homeschool co-ops. The intrinsic value of LEGO to develop critical thinking is obvious yet at the same time I need help in creating specific learning through play activities to use with these Tanzanian students. All of the national education is built on a rote style of learning.  We are trying to change that at Siha Leadership Academy.  I used the LEGO Education Story Starter set when my kids were younger but LEGO discontinued it. Yesterday I sent a letter to LEGO charity explaining our non-profit UboraTZ and what we will be doing. I want to bring black LEGO figures which are hard to find in large quantities (50) and any Story Starter Kits that might be left.  I just found through your site that LEGO now has the Identity and Landscape kit. This would be perfect but we would need it donated!

Hopefully I can bring to this Serious Play Pro community innovative ideas for working with underprivileged children to build problem solving skills through LEGO that can ultimately benefit their community. If anyone has ideas for me, I am eager to learn. If anyone has suggestions of organizations willing to make donations in this area to a 501 c3 charity (UboraTZ) please point me in that direction.