Careful observation
Notice direction, speed, repetition and connections instead of only saying “it moves.”
Courses
ESMEarly Simple Machines
ESMEarly Simple MachinesAges 4–6 · SQ Exclusive · LEGO engineering foundations
ESM: Early Simple Machines: First they make it move. Then they discover why.
Four books. Twenty moving machines. One year of engineering discoveries. SQ Exclusive ESM brings Books 1–4 together in 40 lessons, with two lessons for every unit: build and explore, then invent and explain.
SQ Exclusive · ESM 1, 2, 3 & 4 · 1 year · 2 lessons per unit.
Inside the books + try a build in 3D ↓- All four ESM books
- Two lessons per unit
- English with a purpose
Currently scheduled
Friday 19:00–20:00
Starts 16 October 2026.
10 students maximum
This is the time for the group scheduled now. We may open new groups, so if this time does not suit your family, please still get in touch.
Ask about this course04course books
20moving-machine units
40connected lessons
01year together
The bridge into engineering
Still playful. Now every movement becomes a question.
At four to six, children are ready for more than a finished model. They can predict what a turn might do, watch a mechanism closely, follow a visual sequence with a partner and make a change they can call their own.
See it
Start with a real-world movement and learn the words to notice it clearly.
Build it
Follow a visual sequence and experience how connected parts work together.
Change it
Use the mechanism as inspiration for a new idea—not a model that must be copied.
One unit · Two connected lessons
Build an idea. Make it your own.
Each unit follows the SQ Exclusive two-lesson rhythm. Children first get to know a mechanism through a guided build, then use what they have learned to invent, test and review their own idea.
- Lesson 1
Intro + Build
Meet the idea, learn useful words and build the model. Test its movement and notice how the connected parts work together.
- Lesson 2
Invention + Review
Use the mechanism in a new design. Try it, make a change and explain what happened, then revisit the ideas and vocabulary.
4 books × 5 units × 2 lessons = 40 lessons across one year.
Our classroom toolkit
Big ideas deserve better tools.
All four ESM books are part of the one-year SQ Exclusive course. Each book gives five machines a story and a question. BrickStep lets children turn a model around, look closely and tackle the next step with confidence.
From model to investigation
Build it. Roll it. Measure the room.
The finished car has a job to do. Children watch the pointer turn, measure familiar objects and put their findings in the book. A working mechanism becomes a reason to count, compare and explain.
Explore in 3D
Take the Measuring Car for a spin.
Turn the real ESM model around to inspect its dial, wheels and gears. Follow the connections, then ask: how could a wheel help us measure a distance?
ESM / LEGO 9656
Drag to turn it. Use the arrows to look from another angle.
Open the building instructions ↗The complete ESM machine line
Four books. Twenty reasons to look closer.
From the first seesaw to the final dancer, all twenty units belong to the same one-year course. Each book contains five units, and each unit has two connected lessons.
ESM 1 · First moving machines
- 012 connected lessons
Seesaw
Explore balance and how two sides move up and down.
- Movement to notice
- A pivot lets the two sides rise and fall as children compare balanced and unbalanced loads.
- 022 connected lessons
Fan
Connect gears to turn blades and compare fast and slow movement.
- Movement to notice
- Meshing gears carry a turn to the blades; changing gear size changes their speed.
- 032 connected lessons
Spinner
Turn a handle, set a top spinning and investigate balance.
- Movement to notice
- A handle turns connected gears and axles to set a top spinning.
- 042 connected lessons
Catapult
Use a lever and pivot to launch a soft load towards a target.
- Movement to notice
- A moving arm turns around a pivot, carrying a soft load into the air.
- 052 connected lessons
Drinking Bird
Discover how a turning cam makes a bird move up and down.
- Movement to notice
- A rotating cam lifts a follower, turning a circular movement into an up-and-down action.
ESM 2 · Movement at work
- 062 connected lessons
Extend-O-Arm
Connect pivots to make a tool that reaches farther.
- Movement to notice
- Connected pivots let the arm open, close and reach beyond a child's hand.
- 072 connected lessons
Race Car
Build a rolling car and investigate how a push changes its journey.
- Movement to notice
- Wheels and axles turn as a push or launcher sends the car across the floor.
- 082 connected lessons
The Ride
Turn a handle to move a ride and describe its swinging action.
- Movement to notice
- Turning a handle transfers movement to a ride that swings back and forth.
- 092 connected lessons
Merry Go Round
Use a crank, gears and an axle to make the seats spin.
- Movement to notice
- A crank and gear turn the central axle, carrying the seats around it.
- 102 connected lessons
Crane
Build a stable lifting machine with an arm and hook.
- Movement to notice
- A stable base supports the arm and hook as the model lifts and lowers a load.
ESM 3 · Motion workshop
- 112 connected lessons
Measuring Car
Observe wheels, distance, and repeatable movement.
- Movement to notice
- Wheels turn a repeatable journey into a distance children can compare.
- 122 connected lessons
Swing
Investigate a model that moves back and forth.
- Movement to notice
- Connected gears help a seat travel back and forth.
- 132 connected lessons
Helicopter
Build a spinning mechanism and explore rotation.
- Movement to notice
- A worm gear and bevel gear carry a turn towards two spinning rotors.
- 142 connected lessons
Plane
Test and describe a moving model.
- Movement to notice
- One turning input brings the propeller to life.
- 152 connected lessons
Crimper
Turn hand movement into a simple mechanical action.
- Movement to notice
- Moving rollers turn a hand action into pressure on paper.
ESM 4 · Character machines
- 162 connected lessons
Hockey Player
Use a model to test force and movement.
- Movement to notice
- A visible mechanism turns the player's body into a powerful swing.
- 172 connected lessons
Goalkeeper
Design and refine a moving defence mechanism.
- Movement to notice
- A moving defence lets children test control, timing and response.
- 182 connected lessons
Excavator
Explore lifting and movement with linked parts.
- Movement to notice
- Linked parts lift and lower a working arm.
- 192 connected lessons
Giraffe
Build a themed model and explain how it moves.
- Movement to notice
- Connected beams give an animal model repeated movement.
- 202 connected lessons
Dancer
Create and improve a model with expressive movement.
- Movement to notice
- A turning gear train creates expressive, repeating motion.
Inside one machine
One turn. Two rotors. How does it work?
Children can trace one action all the way through the model: a hand turns, gears meet at new angles, and two rotors respond. That visible chain gives prediction, testing and engineering language something concrete to attach to.
“If I turn this, what will move next?”
Main rotor
Watch rotary movement at the top.
Bevel gear
See a turn change direction.
Worm gear
Follow slow, controlled movement.
Tail rotor
Notice two outputs respond together.
Built in a real ESM classroom
Bright machines. Serious pride.
These are current ESM students with the machines they built and tested in 2026. The final photo matters—but so do the decisions, corrections and explanations that came before it.
What grows between the bricks
Early engineering habits that travel with them.
ESM is designed as a developmental bridge: concrete enough for kindergarten hands, structured enough to prepare children for the deeper testing and measurement of Build Club.
Useful language
Use words such as turn, connect, predict, compare and change while they are genuinely needed.
Visual sequencing
Read a build as a series of steps, keep their place and recover when something differs.
Partner habits
Share parts, listen to an idea and solve a construction problem together.
Honest testing
Try the model, notice what happened and make a correction without treating it as failure.
Original thinking
Move from following a model to applying its movement in a child-owned invention.
Is ESM the right next step?
For the child who loves building—and is ready to look underneath.
This course suits kindergarten children who enjoy LEGO, moving toys and figuring things out, and who are ready for a clear classroom rhythm with plenty of hands-on time.
- They are four to six and comfortable joining a structured small-group activity.
- They enjoy building, machines, pretend play or asking how things move.
- They are ready to follow a visual sequence with help, then make a choice of their own.
- They are growing confidence listening, sharing and explaining ideas in English.
Meet your ESM teachers
Build bravely. Explain proudly.
Jackson and Rianne make early engineering energetic, welcoming and rich with useful English.
With Teacher Jackson & Teacher Rianne
ESM teacher
Teacher Jackson
Keeps mechanisms moving through playful tests and one-more-run energy.
ESM teacher
Teacher Rianne
Helps children find the words for what they built, noticed and changed.The workshop door is open
Let their next LEGO build begin with a real question.
A friendly trial class gives your child time to meet the materials, experience the ESM rhythm and make something move with purpose.
The complete SQ Exclusive course: ESM 1–4, 20 units and 40 lessons in one year.
Book a trial class