‘I want them to express themselves': Level Green parent launches Lego club

Keith Harmon estimates he has more than 200 pounds of Lego bricks in his Penn Township home.

“There’s not a lot of room to move,” Harmon joked. “I have Lego stuff pretty much anywhere you can imagine.”

Harmon, parent to a first grade student at Level Green Elementary, started a Lego club at the school, drawing inspiration from the enjoyment he and his family have experienced building with the colorful toy bricks at home.

The club had its first meeting in January, drawing about 60 students. The first session was a free build, allowing students the flexibility to construct whatever they wanted. Harmon plans to task the students with themes to help guide their building at future meetings.

“I want them to be able to be creative and use their imagination,” Harmon said. “I want them to express themselves.”

Harmon worked with Level Green Principal Dan DiNapoli to organize the club.

“(Keith) had a lot of great ideas and was well-organized with his thought process,” DiNapoli said via email.

After-school opportunities such as the Lego club are not only a source of fun for the students, DiNapoli said. They also allow students to make new friends, practice communication skills and apply the lessons they learn in school to a new setting, he said.

“I want them to learn that people might look differently or talk differently,” Harmon said, “but you all share common interests or goals.”

When Harmon began organizing the club, he gathered Lego donations from friends, family members and other families within the district. He reached out to community members selling Legos on Facebook Marketplace, many of whom agreed to give away the bricks free of charge.

The club will meet from 6 to 7 p.m. on the last Tuesday of February, March and April, but Harmon hopes to revive the club next school year. To stay up to date with the club’s happenings, parents can visit Level Green Brick Builders on Facebook.