The Lego Master's Origin Story: As told by their mom, Gloria
Homeschooling can mean different things to different people. Some prefer more
structure, while others prefer to stay flexible. It can feel daunting to take the plunge into
the homeschool life, because there often isn’t a clear path, and the road can feel
unfamiliar. Sometimes, it helps to look at mothers who have gone before us and reflect
on their journey. This week, we sat down with Gloria Erickson, mother of Lego Masters
winners Mark and Steven Erickson, to ask how she navigated the then very uncharted
waters.
Gloria, a music teacher, was torn between homeschooling and putting her daughter in
school. Back in the 1990s, homeschooling was practically unheard of. After meeting a
mom who homeschooled, Gloria began asking questions, starting with, "Is it legal?" She
had never even heard the term in all her years of education. In the end, she was left
with a choice: send her daughter to pre-school or begin homeschooling. On the day
before preschool enrollment, she felt a pull on her heart and ultimately decided that if
she could teach a classroom full of kids, she could teach one.
At first, Gloria faced backlash from her in-laws (themselves retired teachers) who were
“shocked and appalled” that she was going to homeschool her child. They feared she
wouldn’t get a good education. But as a newly diagnosed rheumatoid patient, Gloria
knew the early morning school run wasn’t going to be an easy option for her, and she
wanted to see where this path would take her, as she felt called to do so.
The tide of approval quickly shifted when her kindergarten daughter was reading at a
second-grade level. Homeschooling really did seem doable. “I quickly realized her
learning style was completely different from mine. Education became personalized. Unit
studies met the need for different learning styles. Mark was about three years old, and
Steven was a baby. We used unit studies focused on kings and queens, science topics
like oceans, bears, and food, and countries. Julia loved learning about princesses,
dressing up as one, and having tea. So, I dressed the other two as well. We just
incorporated them into the learning.”
However, homeschooling became trickier when Mark and Steven struggled to read. “I
realized they weren’t catching on to the reading thing as quickly as Julia did. I decided
that I wasn’t going to pressure them. I supported their weaknesses and let them excel in
their strengths. They were very creative. As Mark got older, he began to read well, but
Steven continued to struggle. It was more difficult for him.”
In talking to Gloria, it was clear that she was driven by a huge amount of optimism. Her
positivity really shines through her face and voice as she shares her story. Then one
day, she saw an article in a magazine about dyslexia. “I had never heard of it. I started
researching and realized they are dyslexic and learn in a completely different way. They
keep everything in their short-term memory while reading, which is why they were
struggling. I just decided we’d work around it. We had videos and audio resources. They
also had dysgraphia. Steven was drawing his letters like pictures. I realized quickly that
they are creative and don’t learn in the typical way. I would ask them to tell me the story
about the unit study topic or describe what we were learning. They would tell me, and I
would take it down like a secretary. We found all sorts of accommodations.”
When we asked Gloria what advice she would give to other homeschool parents whose
children have dyslexia, she recommended unit studies in elementary and junior high.
“You can do a lot of reading aloud that is above their level. They couldn’t read well, but
their vocabulary was so extensive. Their psychologist was so impressed. We read aloud
to them and reinforced learning with hands-on activities.” She also recommended “The
Dyslexic Advantage” by Brock and Fernette Eide. “They see in 3D in their head. Let
them build something to solidify what they were learning. As they got older, we worked
through brightly colored textbooks together in an open dialogue. I never gave my kids
tests. They either knew it or they didn’t, and if they didn’t, we’d work on it. There was no
homework, because that was busy work. The goal was to instill the love of learning and
teach them how to learn.”
They started to read a little later. Mark started taking off in junior high, but Steven
always struggled and never learned to spell. Gloria took it in stride, “There was spell
check for that. I kept it practical. Learning was more interest-driven. I wasn’t worried
about going to Ivy League schools. They were not set up for higher education. We just
covered the basics in case they changed their mind about college. We counted the time
and experience of running their businesses as entrepreneurial credits. We attended
homeschool conventions every year for five or six years. We would get a booth. Julia
would make a bunch of jewelry. The boys would make duct tape shields and swords,
and we would sell the CDs of Warfare by Duct Tape books.”
From the time her boys were little, they loved Lego. They would get sets for Christmas
and birthdays, quickly put them together, and just as quickly take them apart and build
something else. It was clear they had a talent for building, and Lego was their art
medium. When asked how she nurtured this in her children, she said, “I just made a
special space for it. They didn’t need to put their Lego away every evening. They could
leave their projects out. They knew that no one was going to come to mess with them,
and that fostered creativity.” She saw her role as protector. “I protected them from
naysayers who didn’t approve of them ‘playing with toys’ as they got older. I had to
protect their interests. They had young friends whose parents would clean up their Lego
every day. Doing that demolishes the child’s excitement about the project.
“I am entrepreneurial and creative, so one of my mottos was, I want you to be a
producer, not just a consumer. I gave them lots of opportunities to paint, glue, and
create. LEGO became a big part of their fun and education.
“When we started homeschooling, we lived in Florida. We were always at the beach,
and playing outside. They took their LEGO outside and created story scenes. They took
pictures of their Lego creations in action, and they asked us to print the pictures and to
write out the story for them. We were part of a large co-op in Florida, where we made
many good friends. But I never put them in the classes, because I didn’t want them to
be shamed about their dyslexia. We played with our friends at the park, the beach, and
our homes, so we socialized that way. Later, we moved to Georgia, and we were
isolated as there were very few homeschoolers nearby. However, they found there was
a whole online community for LEGO. They started to connect with other LEGO friends
via the internet.”
They discovered the Classic Castle website. They would build and upload pictures, and
they started winning their contests, becoming master builders on the Classic Castle
website. “We started posting on Flickr. Mark got really good at photography. He learned
Photoshop and started editing his photos.” They began to make a name for themselves
in the LEGO community. “What I did was provide time for them to polish their craft, and
they started to get recognized as really great builders. Soon, we realized there were
LEGO conventions. When they were 16 or 17, we went as a family to Birmingham,
Alabama, for a weekend convention. They started winning convention awards. Then we
went to going all over from Virginia to Florida. We acknowledged that as part of their
education. I wanted them to be able to speak to people, look people in the eye, and
develop social skills. I know, deep down in my mom's heart, that if they had been in a
traditional or Christian school, they wouldn’t be where they are today. They would have
been labeled below reading level, stupid, or dumb. They would have been humiliated,
because that’s all the school sees. The schools don’t teach in ways that allow other
learners to flourish. They came out with so much self-esteem, because they learned
how to have confidence and realized they were making an impression and winning
awards.”
After high school, Mark and Steven needed to gain marketable skills. Mark wanted to go into graphic design. He completed an associate’s degree in website design. Steven
went to technical school to become a welder. “I helped and tutored him in the book
work.” Meanwhile, they were starting to go to conventions on their own as young adults.
“Steven had just graduated from technical school. He had just started a fantastic
welding job. Mark was finishing up one more year of his schooling and worked at the
LEGO store in Newnan. While he worked, he kept getting these phone calls. Something
about LEGO Masters. He thought it was a scam. Finally, he called them back. ‘Look, we
are making a TV show. We found your stuff on Flickr, and we are interested in you being
on our show for the first season.’ Mark said, ‘Well, my brother and I...’ ‘Oh, you have a
brother! To be on the show, you will need to fly out to California and be there for two
months.’ But Mark wouldn’t be able to finish his school, and Steven wouldn’t be able to
get established in his job, so they asked the TV producers to get back to them the next
year if they have a second season.”
Their very good friends became contestants of the first season and won. After they saw
that, they became interested. The following year, the TV company called them first. By
now, Steven had been at his job for a year. “He went to his boss, who was like, ‘What,
are you kidding me? Toys?’ So, Steven built them a Yeti – their company mascot. His
boss replied, ‘Fine, you can go, but you'd better win!’”
They filmed February through April 2021 in Kennesaw, Georgia. They were still in the
COVID bubble and were not allowed to leave their hotel room except for filming. The
food on set wasn’t very tasty, so every Saturday, Gloria would drive to Kennesaw with
groceries. It was an intense and stressful experience. They had a lot of pressure.
Sometimes the working conditions were challenging and the hours were long. They
persevered, and in the end, they won!
After their victory, many doors have opened up for them. A LEGO convention organizer
reached out to them, inviting them to serve as special celebrity guests and meet the
public. Today, they attend conventions about six to eight times per year. They also got
the opportunity to join the Dude Perfect Cruise in January 2022. “They asked them to
build a sandcastle with the Dude Perfect logo on it and sent them ten thousand tan
bricks. They built it modularly so they could ship it, take it apart, and rebuild it on the
ship. The kids came and built with the LEGO, and the guys worked with the kids. People
wanted selfies with them, so they had to whisk them to a back room to keep from being
flooded with people. It was a great opportunity for them.”
But what about for Gloria? What’s life like after homeschooling? “It’s been tough. My
whole focus was on my kids. They were my reason to keep going through health
concerns.
“But since 2018, I have built a business helping people self-publish their books. I format
the interior, and Julia designs the covers. Mark is selling T-shirts with LEGO designs on
his website, so you can buy them there. Steven has his book, “The Inner Workings of
the LEGO Mind,” which includes all his work to date. Julia has written two books,
“Ashburn” and “Diamond.”
And what advice would you give to homeschool parents? “You need to pour into their
lives. You need to make an effort. You can’t plug them into the computer, walk off, and
have them be stellar people. You have to invest yourself in your kids. You need to
support them and be their biggest cheerleader. Whatever their weaknesses are, that’s
okay. They are good at something. If you look at the population, not everyone is good at
everything. We all have gifts. Focus on their self-esteem. Help them follow their
passions. This is the calling of parenthood. As a homeschooler, take the opportunity not just to ‘fill a bucket’ with facts, but to ‘light a fire’ of learning and growth.”
-Joni Harrison
Photos courtesy of Gloria Erickson
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