LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® at school: educators and parents in dialogue
“At school he is perfectly calm, at home he is a different person.” Almost every parent has heard, or said, a sentence like that. And almost every educator knows the opposite case.
From this question, simple and complex at the same time, came a LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® workshop with the educators and parents of the nursery school “Un, Due, Tre… Stella!” in Siziano (Pavia), in collaboration with the Centro sempliceMENTE (Diagnosis, Therapy and Psychological Support). An afternoon of two and a half hours that showed how well the method works outside companies too.
What happened in the workshop
Through practical activities, models built together and moments of open dialogue, educators and parents explored family dynamics and what goes on in children’s heads and hearts when they move between two worlds with different rules and rhythms.
During the final sharing something precious happened: some parents expressed themselves with such depth that they were moved. It happened with delicacy and respect, and with that sense of authenticity that shows how much the educational path is a shared journey.
Why the method works with parents and educators
Talking about education and children touches deep chords: it is easy to feel judged, both as a parent and as a professional. LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® shifts the focus from the person to the model. You do not say “I get it wrong when…”, you tell the story of a construction. This creates just the right distance to talk about important things without feeling exposed.
Moreover, educators and parents see the same child from two different points of view. Putting the two perspectives side by side, literally on the same table, makes it possible to build a shared understanding instead of two separate versions. And, as studies on emotions and memory show, what we live with emotional involvement is remembered for a long time: that is why the suggestions that emerged stay with people and are taken home.
What they took home
- Greater awareness of the differences between school and the family environment.
- A clearer view of children’s daily challenges.
- Concrete suggestions for bringing home what works at school.
- A sense of community: no one grows up alone, neither a child nor a parent.
How it can be used at school
School-family meetings
To build an educational partnership between teachers and parents on a specific theme: rules, emotions, autonomy, stages of growth.
Teams of educators
To align the working group on educational project, values and shared ways of working, at the start of the year or at a time of change.
In collaboration with professionals
As in Siziano, the workshop is integrated with the work of psychologists and educational specialists, who bring the content while the method facilitates the dialogue.
Want to understand the basics of the method better? Read What is LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® and how a workshop works.
Written by
Samuele Granata
Certified LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® facilitator and founder of IPPOPO. With over 10 years of experience in IT, he designs team-building workshops and games for companies, events and schools in Milan and Lombardy. About me →
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