Brick Builders Engineering Classes for Kids

Brick Builders Engineering Classes for Kids

Since 2004, YEL has offered a wide variety of Brick Builders engineering classes for kids.  From pre-K classes through middle school, YEL has offered engineering classes that nurture young builders’ and engineers’ inner innovator.

YEL Brick Builders Engineering Classes for Kids feature:

• Our trademarked Teach It! Practice It! Play It!® methodology:
  • Teach It! – Each class our instructors lead a brief lesson about the engineering concept for that day, where to explore it in their project, and any trouble spots to look out for.
  • Practice It! – Students begin building their projects and exploring the basics of the engineering concept taught for that day.
  • Play It! – Students use their project to explore and test the engineering concepts we’ve discussed.  The teacher asks questions about their project that pertain to what was taught earlier.  If time permits, the teacher will give accelerated students challenging modifications to their project.
• Dynamic teachers – Our instructors are kid-friendly and love to engage youth to think, learn, and play well!  
• Comprehensive curriculum (see topics below) – YEL Brick Builders classes feature hundreds of lessons in dozens of topics from gear ratios, to complex robotics coding.
• Prizes – Students can earn a “builder of the day” pin and stickers for completing their projects.  NOTE: All students will receive the “builder of the day” pin at some point during the session as long as they work hard and focus. 

Brick Builders Curriculum

YEL Brick Builders engineering classes for kids offers dozens of courses in multiple series.  Series include:

• Brick Builders – YEL has eight different courses in our Brick Builders series.
  • Each course includes eight, one-hour lessons.
  • Each course is for grades 1-5.
  • Each course has projects that vary in difficulty from beginner to challenging.
  • Each course addresses different engineering components from gears and gear ratios, to levers, pulleys, and wheels and axles.
• Extreme STEM Engineering – YEL has six different courses in the Extreme STEM series.
  • Each course includes six, one-hour lessons.
  • Each course is for grades k-3.
  • The projects in this series are more basic and require less time than in the Brick Builders series.
  • As with Brick Builders series, each Extreme STEM Engineering course addresses different engineering components from gears and gear ratios, to levers, pulleys, and wheels and axles.

• Robotics Junior – YEL has four different courses in the Robotics Junior series.
  • In this course, students build projects and then use software to code what the projects do.  For instance, they will build a waking giant and then code it to wake up, yawn, and then stomp around.
  • 

    Robotics Junior

    Each course includes six, one-hour lessons.

  • Each course is for grades 1-5.
  • Although the projects we build in this series are more basic, the added coding component makes it a bit more challenging.

• Robotics 2.0 – YEL has four different courses in the Robotics 2.0 series.
  • This course is very similar to Robotics Junior, but has more updated coding and LEGO project components.
  • Each course includes six, one-hour lessons.
  • Each course is for grades 1-5.
  • As with Robotics Junior, the projects in this series are more basic and require less time than in the Brick Builders series.  Again, the added coding component increases the complexity of this class.
• Robotics Evolution – A big step up from the other classes.
  • For students in 4th-8th grades.
  • A 20 hour summer camp.
  • An excellent primer for students interested in FIRST LEGO League.
  • This is a robust, complex class that introduces students to middle school level robotics (NOTE: These materials are used on some college campuses as well).
  • Students work together to build, code, test, and modify different robots to complete different challenges each day of camp.  The challenges, and thus the coding and robot builds, get progressively more difficult each day of camp.  It culminates in a grand challenge showcase where parents and friends can come to observe what the students have been working on throughout the week.
• Brick Builders Pneumatics (a summer camp offered only in select areas)
  • An amazing introduction to pneumatics engineering concepts
    

    Pneumatics Summer Camp

• Pre-K Bricks (select areas only)
  • A fantastic engineering class using Duplo® blocks and for 4-5 year olds.

Find Classes

• Visit our Registration  page and put in your zip code to find Brick Builders classes in your area.
• YEL offers after school classes at your school at the end of the school day.
• YEL also offers summer camps in your community or near you.
• Can’t find a YEL Brick Builders class near you?  Email us at info@yelkids.com to discuss how to start classes in your area.

Summer Camps

YEL Brick Builders summer camps are thoroughly engaging camps meant to combat summer brain drain.  Camps are designed as day camps (usually 9am-noon or 1-4pm) for four to five days for one week.  We keep kids building, designing, testing, modifying, and then…the best part…experimenting with their projects for 12-15 hours of camp for that week.

Find Summer Camps

Click the button above and put in your zip code to find classes in your area.

Other:

• Want to know more about FIRST LEGO League?  Visit our blog, “What is FIRST® [FLL, FTC, FRC]?” .
• Click here to find out the “Five Reasons Youth Robotics is Important“.
• Click here to find out “Why parents are choosing after school classes.”