My child just went in and 'played with lego' and 'messed around with play doh'.

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First of all - you are so wrong in what you are saying.

Second of all - you haven’t understood what is being assessed when these top schools ask your child to ‘play with lego’ and ‘mess around with play doh’.

And finally - just be quiet.

When your child is asked to ‘play with lego’, here is what is truly being assessed - if you wish to understand it in the slightest.

  1. Fine motor skills and fine motor control - Not every single 3 year old can hold the small bricks in their hands and have the strength needed to click them in place. Not every 3 year old nows how to hold one small brick in their hands whilst supporting the other little brick with their other hand.

  2. Cognitive abilities - As they connect and manipulate the small bricks, they need to use high levels of cognition.

  3. Problem solving - Lego ‘play’ is supporting children with their problem solving skills. If one brick falls down, they need to think about what they need to do next, if one small brick doesn’t match the one in the picture, they need to find the correct one and they need to think about how many gaps are missing in between pieces.

  4. Creativity - When children ‘play’ with lego, they are being very creative. They can be asked to create a rocket out of lego for example without any image of a rocket.

  5. Social - emotional skills- lego ‘play’ involves collaborating with others and also ‘playing’ independently with the little bricks.

  6. Language and narrative abilities as the children explain exactly what they have created.

When your child is asked to ‘mess around with play doh’, the schools are actually observing your child’s fine motor skills, their muscle strength, their sensory exploration, their creativity and imagination, their problem solving, their concentration and their resilience.

So careful what you go around telling people and stop undermining your child’s hard work and effort.

All the best to all of our children across the country currently attending their 4+ assessments. You are all amazing.