The Monkey King Legend | Here's How Schools Got Creative with a Fable

by Irina Myriam . on 28/10/2020 3108

Little Oak Tree kids with their Monkey Kin...Little Oak Tree kids with their Monkey Kin...

Kids in schools across Klang Valley and Penang were recently learning all about the fable of the Monkey King—and bringing the legend to life with some help from LEGO and Kiddy123!

▶ Students at Little Oak Tree with their LEGO Monkey King polybags

▶ Tadika Big Apple and Tadika Anak Manis teachers receiving LEGO polybags and free Kiddy123 magazines

Earlier this year, LEGO had launched a range of really cool play sets based on the Monkey King tale. Their new theme, called ‘Monkie Kid’, is their very first Chinese-inspired LEGO theme. They even came up with an animated mini movie and TV series that show a fun and fresh new take on the cherished legend (which you should totally read about here).

▶ Children at Genius Kids’ Land building their LEGO Monkey King together with a teacher

A few weeks ago, a few lucky schools and educational centres got their hands on some free Build Your Own LEGO Monkey King polybags that were released in line with the Monkie Kid theme. The polybag contained 24 LEGO pieces altogether that kids could arrange into 5 different formations of the character!

Teachers distributing LEGO Monkey King polybags in Beaconhouse Sri Inai and Beyond Kids

▶ Teachers distributing LEGO Monkey King polybags in Beaconhouse and Beyond Kids

▶ The five formations for LEGO’s Monkey King polybag, taken by Johan Preschool

Kids from Polaris Preschool, English Champ and 3Q MRC looking at formations and figuring out how to build their Monkey King

▶ Kids from Polaris Preschool, English Champ and 3Q MRC looking at formations and figuring out how to build their Monkey King

An Epic Tale from Chinese Folklore

▶ Kids at The Parenthood preschool with their Lego polybags and Monkey King-inspired crowns

The legend of the Monkey King, also known as Sun Wukong, comes from a famous 16^th century Chinese novel called ‘Journey to the West’. The tale demonstrates values such as bravery, resilience and imagination.

Kids in 39 different schools not only got to arrange and play with their Monkey King LEGO figures, but also took part in some exciting and creative activities based on the character.

▶ Tadika Mutiara Cerah’s Monkey King student activity

Some schools took this opportunity to share stories about Sun Wukong with kids; either verbally, through an animated video, or by reading along with a book. Check out these kids engrossed in stories about the Monkey King legend!

▶ Puei Chee Kindergarten story time about the Monkey King

▶ Kids at Apple Tree, Penang, watching a video about the Monkey King

Other students got their hands busy by drawing and colouring Monkey King pictures. Lots of kids created unique representations of the character, adding different details and colours.

▶ Kids at Q Garden showing off their creative drawings of the Monkey King

▶ Drawing and colouring the Monkey King at Little Mandarin House and InspiraSeed Kindergarten

A few schools decided to get their kids involved in mask making. Just look at how adorable their creations are.

▶ D’Monte Preschool and Yu Der Kindergarten kids making masks

Rainbow Kids’ students colouring their masks before cutting them out

▶ Rainbow Academy’s students colouring their masks before cutting them out

There were even schools that got kids acting in a performance about the Monkey King!

▶ Happles Kindergarten students in their Monkey King costumes

Encouraging Creativity and Play with LEGO Monkey King

▶ Kids getting imaginative with LEGO’s Monkie Kid play sets (Image from LEGO Group 2020)

LEGO’s new Monkie Kid theme, being the first theme based on Chinese folklore, is clearly giving kids lots of room to get creative. One can just imagine what children, parents, and grandparents can come up with when they get together and create their own version of the heroic fable.

If you’re interested in getting the imaginative play sets, head on over to lego.com or to a certified store that sells LEGO near you.