Homeschooling with Legos® | Kevin O’Neill

Is it possible to teach virtue and faith formation using Lego® Bricks? 

And where is it BEST to pass on the TRUTHS of the Faith? 

Join Paola and meet Kevin O’Neill as he tells us all about how his family wrote a book, built the sets, and photographed them so your children can learn the Sacraments and Holy Mass through the use of play, fun, and even Lego® Bricks. 

Kevin and Mary O’Neill, parents of nine, and fellow homeschoolers, have a mission to help families become the Domestic Church we are called to be. 

From Father Dwight Longenecker:

One of the reasons it works so well is not the lego, but the use of Old Testament typology. Instead of trading only in abstract theological concepts or discursive statements of doctrine, the typology of the Old Testament makes the theological principles come alive with stories. The benefits are on several more levels. The kids not only learn about the seven sacraments, but as they learn the stories and typology they also learn their Old Testament and see how the Old Testament and the New hold hands.

THREE DAYS ONLY – ENTER OUR ADVENT GIVEAWAY:

Kevin and Mary O’Neill the families that built the sets and wrote the books have donated signed copies of BOTH books, so we can have TWO Winners!!!

Holy MassHomeschool lego

WHEN: Starting TODAY November 29th through Friday December 2nd, midnight Eastern Time.

Easy 2 Steps to WIN:

1. Watch the PODCAST

2. Then comment with your “AHA” moment from Kevin’s interview in the comments below.

On Friday we will choose winners at random from the comments below.

Comment to be entered to win one of of the copies of this fabulous book.

Watch the O’Neill family build the scenes of the Bible:

Where to get the books:

KEVIN AND MARY O’NEILL’S STORE:

https://building-blocks-of-faith-series.myshopify.com/

(FREE SHIPPING Use CODE: HOMESCHOOL)

OR SOPHIA PRESS:

https://www.sophiainstitute.com/author/kevin-and-mary-oneill

***Please note: some links may be affiliate links, if you use our links, we may earn a small commission that helps to support our private, safe, and  FREE community.

 

Kevin and Mary O’Neill

Catholic Homeschool Family, Authors

Kevin and Mary O’Neill are authors of the Building Blocks of Faith Series, including A Pocket Guide to the Holy Rosary, Pocket Guide to Sacramental Reconciliation, and Catechism of the Seven Sacraments. Readers young and old enthuse about how their stories unpack the deeper meaning of the Scriptures and truths of our Faith. 

We are a Catholic homeschool family on a mission to fulfill our calling, by the grace of God, to be the​ “Ecclesia Domestica” (domestic church). ​

 

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28 Comments

  1. Mary Sparks

    I appreciated the insight of learning through different media. I have one son who is a very hands on and visual learner, and hadn’t really thought about how this could be utilized to teach catechism.

    Reply
  2. Desta Mason

    My aha moment was the connection between the the garden of Eden and the garden of Gethsemane. We all can learn from the product!

    Reply
  3. Maureen

    Such a great interview! I was surprised to hear that Keven wasn’t originally a huge Lego fan ! I love that he developed the books with his family and the children all working on the sets etc. I was impressed by his explanation linking the serpent being lifted up before the Israelites in the desert to Christ lifted on the cross during the processional at mass. A very humbling moment to remember that!

    Reply
  4. Monica

    I loved his explication of the typology of the two gardens, two gardeners, etc. It gave me chills!

    Reply
  5. Summer

    A huge AHA moment for me was when he said the “Know, Love, and Serve God” quote. I NEVER thought about it being in order for a reason that way, it’s makes complete sense the way he broke it down! You can’t love God without Knowing God first, and you can’t serve God without Loving God first. Beautiful!

    Reply
    • Maria Brown

      What a great interview! I had so many aha moments. I loved the reminder that kids learn best with repetition and images. I also appreciated learning more about typology and the examples he gave that are in the book! My kids love Legos. What a wonderful tool to teach them our faith!

      Reply
      • Monica

        I loved hearing him talk about listening over and over to the same cds to really memorize the faith. What a great idea! I always feel like there is so much out there I should move on and listen to something new each time but then I can’t remember exactly how to refute objections raised to the faith which I know I have heard explained before. Such good practical advice and there is true wisdom behind it!

    • Sarah

      Yes! I agree with this.

      Reply
  6. Mara V Vaughan

    I enjoyed this podcast, especially the part where Kevin shared how he stopped listening to music and began forming himself in his faith. That good use of his time was clearly then used by our good God to bless his own family and so many others. It is such a good reminder to me as a busy mom that for myself and my children, finding ways to use our time to glorify God and learn more about Him is always worthwhile and He will always bless it. Thank you for helping us teach our children the faith.

    Reply
  7. Christine V.

    My AHA moment was when Kevin and Paola stressed the importance of repetition when teaching children anything, but especially the treasure of our Faith. Also, I loved listening to Kevin talk Typology…wow!!

    Reply
    • Marie

      Two big aha moments… the order of know, love, serve and the new Adam / gardener bit. One of our boys has the Catechism of the Seven Sacraments already… I think I need to read the whole thing! When they’re asleep – might not let me have it otherwise! They read it continually and often try to make the scenes with our stash of legos.

      Reply
  8. Lisa Hofer

    Kevin’s explanation of how the Fall and the Crucifixion and Resurrection shared symbolism was an “AHA” moment for me. Until now, I had not recognized all of the shared symbolism. I can see that all our family could learn much from the books that Kevin’s family has produced. Thank you for sharing this with the homeschooling community!

    Reply
  9. Cindy

    Great interview! What struck me was the combination of repetition and using audio in the background to keep learning while doing other activities. There are so many excellent Catholic and appropriate educational materials and so many ways to learn from them!

    Reply
  10. Helen Mantooth

    So many good take aways. I love how he reminded us that the domestic church’s goal is to know, love and serve God (I never knew that until I taught it to my kids), and how his faith grew in 2008 — his relying on the Lord after accident, which led him to learn about benefit of repitition–which led to God’s will, not his (writing book and legos). Thank you for being open to God’s will and sharing your creativitiy.

    Reply
  11. Yoselyn Vargas

    This talk was very interesting I could relate to him a lot because that’s exactly what I did, I stopped listening to music about 2 years ago and started hearing things about our catholic faith. My aha moment would have to be when he said at the end about anxiety and how it may seem scary to see the path that God has for us through homeschooling but to not fear at all and to trust in Jesus. That was very reassuring.

    Reply
  12. Melissa Lavender

    My favorite message from this podcast is that he embarked on such an incredible journey after getting in his accident. God sometimes has to drastically move us in the direction He wants us to go in, whether we want to or not. The same thing happened to me; God changed my life trajectory through a very life altering illness. It was the best thing to ever happen to me. You have such incredible faith in God to trust His plans and look at what you’ve done! What a wonderful contribution to our children’s faith formation. I can’t wait to get my hands on these books.

    Reply
  13. Maria Rioux

    I didn’t have any sort of aha moment, but did applaud several times. 🙂 I love studying Scripture, love seeing the Masterful connections and the beautiful ways the Church amplifies that in the liturgy and form of the sacraments. Most of our grandchildren love legos, and this is a lovely way to incorporate play with coming to know God better and better, leading us to love Him more and more deeply. Just for fun, St. Thomas’ Commentary on the Gospel of John is amazing!

    Reply
  14. Renee

    I cannot thank you enough for having the courage to develop and write these books! When one discovers the parallels between the Old Testament and the New Testament (as well as the Holy Mass), how can they not be set on fire for the Faith? We began our homeschooling journey last year, and it has been a bumpy road. How excited I was to pass on the truths of our faith… until I saw the blank stares on my children’s faces. No matter how passionate I am in teaching, they don’t seem to grasp the concepts. I am learning very quickly that each has their own learning style, as noted in the video. After trial and error, I discovered that the child I have most difficulty with learns only thru music, reading and tactile play. I have yet to find resources to tackle lessons with her, but thanks to your Innovative Lego books, I think this will be key! I cannot wait to get my hands on these books, as well as send them to family and friends. I have witnessed firsthand how children can learn very powerfully thru play… 🤔 we might need to build up our Lego stash☺️.

    Reply
  15. Cecil Santos

    My new word today : typology

    Reply
  16. Christina Tu

    I loved what he said regarding the fact that you don’t need a certification to hand out a worksheet. I appreciate his comments and affirmation of choosing to homeschool to raise up children who know, love and serve God as the priority of knowledge. We, just yesterday withdrew our kids mid year to homeschool once again. We also love these books! I buy them for every child’s bday or Christmas presents!! Thank you for such an amazing resource!

    Reply
  17. Sarah

    My “aha” moment is a bit different as not strictly homeschool related – Kevin made an excellent point about what is the point of memorising music.; his practice of repetition when listening to good Catholic media to the point where you are retaining and able to express it yourself, is an excellent one that I will aim to emulate.

    Reply
  18. Kirsten

    My “aha” moment was at the very end when he spoke about anxiety. Homeschooling is a huge responsibility, but as parents we are the BEST and most equipped to pass the faith on to our children through their education at home. As a young homeschool family this encouragement is so valuable. We have already gifted these books to godchildren. I can not wait to bring them into our homeschool.

    Reply
  19. Arlene Fair

    What a beautiful example of a father being a faithful priest of his household! Thank you for being willing to use legos and theological depth to nurture the domestic church. You have observed how knowledge is its own reward, but it is also evident that this project has come about from your love of God and your children. This video was a reminder that we need to be careful about what we are hearing, reading, memorizing, and presenting. Repetition is a wonderful learning tool. This book appeals to different types of learners to teach that the Old Testament foreshadows how sin leaves the world through Jesus. My kids enjoy playing with building toys, but not all lego books are true, good and beautiful. Thank you for the warning about the other lego Bible book out there. Your books are a beautiful response to a blasphemous book. Your books on the Holy Mass and the Catechism of the Seven Sacraments are more than an alternative to the “Brick Bible.” Now we have access to a lego book that teaches the truths of the faith. We look forward to your books teaching typology and recognizing Jesus as Lord!

    Reply
  20. Mary

    This was such a great interview! The timing is great to remind us of our “why” as we tire out toward the end of the semester.

    I loved when Kevin reminded us that the goal is “to know, love, and serve God” and in that order!

    LEGOs play a number of roles in our homeschool full of boys and I can’t wait to add these titles to our resources.

    Thanks for sharing your talents.

    Reply
  21. CE

    You don’t have to have a degree to teach your own children!

    Reply
  22. Kris Van Hees

    My “aha” moment really came with the little no between repetition and multi-sensory learning. But especially the “beat the dead horse until it comes back to life, and then do it again”. The “do it again” is sometimes overlooked, but that is such an important element: reinforcement.

    Reply
  23. Bridget

    My AHA moment was that don’t fear the anxiety of homeschooling. My oldest watched this with me…and he loves the idea of Legos and the Catholic faith together.

    Reply
  24. Bridget SirLouis

    I agree repetition is important, my Lego loving kids would have fun with these books.

    Reply

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