Using fun, interactive methods, a LEGO session in Juhu will help reimagine the festival for kids
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It’s the time of the year to add shades of green, red and white to your home. As is an annual tradition for Juhu’s Dhara Mehta, she will introduce these colours to Christmas-themed LEGO models. Helping her bring these models to life will be elves; actually, young enthusiasts keen to learn and have some fun too.
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Founder of The Kids Company, an E.C.C.ED (Early Childhood Care and Education)-qualified professional and a certified LEGO educator, Mehta has been hosting this workshop for nearly 10 years now. “LEGO helps kids develop various skills as they discover that there is so much that they can create solely around this festival using the bricks,” she explains, adding, “The game is a way for kids to explore and express themselves. It is normal for the structures they build to keep falling apart. The kids then figure out if a misplaced brick is where the problem lies, or if the structure is not getting enough support from one side, and so on. This generates problem-solving skills. Kids love to talk, and they have some of the most fascinating reasons and inspirations behind their creations. This helps build storytelling skills and enhances creative thinking. As this workshop will be in the presence of other kids, they will share their bricks with others, communicate and learn to socialise as well.”
Dhara Mehta (right) shows kids how to build a Chritmas tree
But in a tech-savvy generation, where kids are introduced to the digital world early on, do they warm up to such time-consuming activities that also require attention and patience? Mehta, who was introduced to LEGO thanks to her son, is positive that it is one of the best activities to keep children voluntarily away from their gadgets. “It’s all about the touch and feel. There are endless possible structures to create. All you have to do is to introduce the kids to this possibility. Parents tell me how their kids get so engaged in this game that they lose track of the hours,” the 43-year-old shares.
Among all her themed workshops, like Ganpati, Friendship Day and Halloween, Mehta shares that the Christmas-themed one remains the oldest and one of the more popular ones. Life-size LEGO Christmas trees, wreaths, and other decorations in the studio will set the mood, followed by questions like what they think the festival means. She will help them execute the same by creating LEGO models. They will create Santa Claus, Christmas tree, decorations, and Polar Express, among other themed-structures in the 90-minute-long workshop; which they can practise at home to decorate their house with or rebuild something completely new and magical.
On: December 17; 10 am to 11.30 am and 12 pm to 1.20 pm
Age group: 4 to 8 years
At: The Kids Company, Juhu
Log on to: thekidscompany.in
Call: 9819119835
Cost: Available on request
Go on a shopping spree
Expect gifts that are perfect for secret Santa and Christmas-themed books, activity kits, and ornaments.
On: December 15 at Museum of Solutions, Victoria House, Lower Parel
Log on to: @bombaykidscompany
Best out of waste
Create Christmas decorations and wrapping paper using all kinds of waste.
On: December 24; 10.30 am to 12 pm
At: Museum Plaza, Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Byculla
Brace for X’mas thrills
Join in the festive cheer, Christmas carol performances and rides at this theme park.
On: December 22 to 29
At: Imagicaa, near Lonavala, Khalapur.
Log on to: imagicaaworld.com
Cost: Rs 1,300 onwards
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