problem solving and innovating kindergarten

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Sudoku for Beginners: How to Improve Your Problem-Solving Skills

Are you a beginner when it comes to solving Sudoku puzzles? Do you find yourself frustrated and unsure of where to start? Fear not, as we have compiled a comprehensive guide on how to improve your problem-solving skills through Sudoku.

Understanding the Basics of Sudoku

Before we dive into the strategies and techniques, let’s first understand the basics of Sudoku. A Sudoku puzzle is a 9×9 grid that is divided into nine smaller 3×3 grids. The objective is to fill in each row, column, and smaller grid with numbers 1-9 without repeating any numbers.

Starting Strategies for Beginners

As a beginner, it can be overwhelming to look at an empty Sudoku grid. But don’t worry. There are simple starting strategies that can help you get started. First, look for any rows or columns that only have one missing number. Fill in that number and move on to the next row or column with only one missing number. Another strategy is looking for any smaller grids with only one missing number and filling in that number.

Advanced Strategies for Beginner/Intermediate Level

Once you’ve mastered the starting strategies, it’s time to move on to more advanced techniques. One technique is called “pencil marking.” This involves writing down all possible numbers in each empty square before making any moves. Then use logic and elimination techniques to cross off impossible numbers until you are left with the correct answer.

Another advanced technique is “hidden pairs.” Look for two squares within a row or column that only have two possible numbers left. If those two possible numbers exist in both squares, then those two squares must contain those specific numbers.

Benefits of Solving Sudoku Puzzles

Not only is solving Sudoku puzzles fun and challenging, but it also has many benefits for your brain health. It helps improve your problem-solving skills, enhances memory and concentration, and reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

In conclusion, Sudoku is a great way to improve your problem-solving skills while also providing entertainment. With these starting and advanced strategies, you’ll be able to solve even the toughest Sudoku puzzles. So grab a pencil and paper and start sharpening those brain muscles.

This text was generated using a large language model, and select text has been reviewed and moderated for purposes such as readability.

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2.4 Thinking about problem solving and innovating

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Description of the frame

This frame encompasses children's learning and development with respect to:

• exploring the world through natural curiosity, in ways that engage the mind, the senses, and the body;
• making meaning of their world by asking questions, testing theories, solving problems, and engaging in creative and analytical thinking;
• the innovative ways of thinking about and doing things that naturally arise with an active curiosity, and applying those ideas in relationships with others, with materials, and with the environment.

The learning encompassed by this frame supports collaborative problem solving and bringing innovative ideas to relationships with others.

In connection with this frame, it is important for educators to consider the importance of problem solving in all contexts – not only in the context of mathematics – so that children will develop the habit of applying creative, analytical, and critical-thinking skills in all aspects of their lives.

For a wide range of practical examples of how children and educators interact to make thinking and learning about problem solving and innovating visible, in connection with related overall and specific expectations in the Kindergarten program, see the expectation charts for this frame in Chapter 4.6 .

Problem solving and innovating: What are we learning from research?

Play … is the genesis of innovation, and allows us to deal with an ever-changing world. (Brown, 2009, p. 199)

We don't have to teach [children] to ask “why?” because inside each human being is the need to understand the reasons, the meaning of the world around us and the meaning of our life. … But children not only ask “why?” They are also able to find the answers to their whys, to create their own theories. … Observe and listen to children because when they ask “why?” they are not simply asking for the answer from you. They are requesting the courage to find a collection of possible answers. (Rinaldi, 2004, p. 2)

Researchers acknowledge that the need to engage in problem solving and critical and creative thinking has “always been at the core of learning and innovation” (Trilling & Fadel, 2009, p. 50). Children in Kindergarten are growing up in a competitive, globally connected, and technologically intensive world. Educators need to provide opportunities, explicitly and intentionally, for children to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes they will need for solving a wide variety of problems. It is therefore essential for children to develop the skills required for problem solving, creative and critical thinking, and innovating; confidence, curiosity, and the willingness to take risks and to see mistakes as opportunities for learning; and the ability to collaborate and to build and maintain relationships. Through the exploration and inquiry that are part of play, young children develop these skills. For example, every time children ask “why” questions, look for a tool that will help them with their task, ask questions about how something works, or create a game and explain how to play it to their friends, they are showing an essentially creative approach to the world around them.

Children entering Kindergarten bring with them the capacity to wonder and imagine and the ability to discover and experiment as means of finding answers. When children are able to explore the world around them with their natural curiosity and exuberance, they are fully engaged and see themselves as contributing members of their world. This creative approach is a central aspect of both problem solving and innovating.

View: Video “ It Starts with Student Curiosity ”

Children's engagement with problem solving

Children develop problem-solving strategies from first-hand explorations and from exchanging ideas with other children and with adults, all of which can help them to see things from different points of view. Children develop “working theories” as answers to their questions by observing and listening, and by exploring, discussing, and representing. Their theories become increasingly useful for making sense of the world and for giving them some control over the problem-solving process.

Children's innate capacity to ask questions and recognize problems may in fact encourage them to make connections that lead to innovative thinking and solutions that are meaningful and relevant to them. Their resilience and initiative develop as they persevere through many attempts at solving a problem. “As children gain greater experience, knowledge, and skills, the theories they develop become more widely applicable and have more connecting links between them” (New Zealand Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 44). They approach problems with the optimistic attitude that a solution is possible and with the confidence that they are able to create that solution.

Children's engagement with innovating

Education, for most people, means trying to lead the child to resemble the typical adult of his society. … But for me, education means making creators. … You have to make inventors, innovators, not conformists. (Bringuier, 1980, p. 132, citing Piaget)

Making things and then making those things better is at the core of humanity. Ever since early man started his first fire or clubbed his first seal, humans have been tinkerers. … Throughout history there has been an acceptance of the intuitive sense that peak learning results from direct experience. (Libow Martinez & Stager, 2013, p. 11)

Innovating may be described as creating, or improving upon, a product or a process. For example, innovation may result in the following:

• a product that is more efficient, compact, interesting, or aesthetically pleasing; safer; or less fragile
• a process that is easier to understand, more accessible, safer, more environmentally responsible, or more accurate

Kindergarten children are engaging in innovative thinking when they do any of the following:

• ask or respond to “what if …?” and “what would happen if …?” questions
• take the risk to try something they have never done before
• try a different approach to solving a problem after making a mistake or finding that something does not work
• use materials or tools from one play area for a different purpose in another area
• modify a structure or building procedure to meet their needs better or make it safer
• test a structure such as a marble run and make changes to improve how it works
• explain their thinking regarding a change or adaptation
• make changes to materials or resources in the classroom to meet their needs ( e.g. , move chairs, recreate a name wall when writing in the dramatic play area)
• design and make a tool for a specific purpose
• create music, visual art work, or dances, and make improvements to them
• design and create items to use in their dramatic play, and create unique names for unusual shapes or imaginary animals
• test their theories, and persevere in their attempts to solve a problem
• use a variety of attributes when sorting or patterning, or re-sort items using a different attribute
• transfer skills learned in one context to another
• collaborate with peers to create and modify things, using their own ideas and building on the ideas of others
• consider someone else's perspective when making adaptations

View: Video “ Improvable Ideas in the Classroom ”

Figure 5. This illustration shows “what innovators do” and the traits they possess. Children who are encouraged to innovate develop habits of mind and characteristics that serve them throughout their lives.

Supporting children's development in problem solving and innovating

Teaching shifts from focusing on covering all required content to focusing on the learning process, developing students' ability to lead their own learning and to do things with their learning. [Educators] … are partners with students in deep learning tasks characterised by exploration, connectedness and broader, real-world purposes. (Fullan & Langworthy, 2014, p. 7)

Educators who are in an inquiry stance recognize that learning occurs in social contexts and that interactions and conversations are vitally important for learning. They also actively support children's learning by providing opportunities for children to engage in hands-on investigations that are relevant to the children. They use strategies such as modelling and conjecturing, and engage in shared thinking with the children so that the children can learn to identify problems and propose innovative solutions (ADEEWR, 2009, p. 15).

When educators take a purposefully curious approach to new experiences and ideas rather than acting as the experts, children are more likely to engage in creative problem solving and more complex play and inquiry (Gopnik, 2011). Posing questions such as the following can provoke children to ask additional questions, to think logically when solving the problem, and to use both language and non-verbal means to represent their thinking:

• “How can we make the building stronger?”
• “How can we attract more birds and butterflies to our school garden?”
• “How can we explain what snow is to someone who lives in a hot part of the world?”
• “How can we help someone who doesn't speak English understand what happened in the story?”
• “Why does our modelling clay keep drying out?”
• “How can we arrange our picture books so that you can look at them more often?”
• “How can we keep the dramatic play area from getting so messy all the time?”

Similarly, explicitly identifying innovations in the world around them will enable children to recognize the impact of others' innovations on their own environment and experiences. For example, educators can ask such questions as the following to provoke children to consider the value of creativity in a range of areas:

• “How do you suppose people got a drink of water at school before the water fountain was invented?”
• “What do you think the artist was trying to do when she created this sculpture?”
• “I wonder what winter coats were like before zippers were used.”
• “I used to send a letter to your parents on paper, but now I send them an e-mail. Why do you think I made that change?”

Innovation requires the ability to look at something in a new and interesting way. Innovation in Kindergarten may not result in a new and unique product or process, but it is an important experience for the children to see that they can create something new and different. Educators can support and encourage Kindergarten children in innovative thinking in such ways as the following:

• begin with the curiosity, questions, wonderings, and interests of the children
• engage children by asking questions, such as “I wonder why …?” or “What if …?”
• provide an open and flexible learning environment where children can apply their skills to improve some aspect of their immediate world
• encourage children to take creative risks during play
• model the use of language associated with problem solving and innovating
• listen to children's hypotheses and make their thinking visible through conversation
• encourage children to use language and non-verbal means, such as drawing diagrams, to explain their hypotheses to others
• scaffold children's learning intentionally throughout an exploration project
• support the use of multiple attempts to solve a problem
• provide opportunities for children to become aware of the creative significance of the innovation process ( e.g. , the process of mixing paints to create a new colour, or of exploring the design and possible adaptation of a stable structure)
• emphasize the importance of perseverance, and encourage children to see “failures” and “mistakes” as rich learning opportunities

Questions for reflection: How does the learning environment support the development of children's problem-solving and innovating capacities?

• How can we ensure that the ways in which we provoke and extend children's problem-solving and innovating capacities reflect our view of children as “capable, competent, curious, and rich in potential and experience”?
• How can we ensure that our program and learning environment enable children to initiate purposeful problem solving?
• In what ways can we encourage children to use their imagination and their prior knowledge to find solutions and test whether they work?
• How can we encourage children to take risks and to persevere despite unsuccessful attempts to find a solution?
• In what ways can we demonstrate that “not knowing” is a necessary attitude with which to approach solving problems in a creative way?

The role of play in inquiry, problem solving, and innovating

Our [Full-Day Kindergarten] program promotes the development of self-regulation, social-emotional learning, inquiry skills, and play-based learning that fosters creativity, imagination and problem solving. (Fullan, 2013, p. 11)

Play is a vehicle for learning and lies at the core of innovation and creativity. When playing, children for generations have used their abundant imagination to create new and different uses for such things as a stick, a rock, or a box. Children engaged in play begin to wonder and experiment as they interact with materials, the learning environment, and their peers. During play, they test initial ideas, ask more questions, and retest their new thinking. Their theories are validated or challenged all through this process. The educators observe and wonder along with the children, and ask further questions to help the children clarify and test their theories.

However, educators are also aware that an over-reliance on questions can create a context of “interrogation”, where children have to stop what they are doing and verbalize. Educators know that many times, if they observe in silence and document their observations, their questions will be answered through the children's actions. They use this silent time to consider which questions (probably only one or two) are most relevant in order to deepen children's engagement, and often wait to offer these questions to the children when revisiting the documentation.

In response to a child's play, questions, and representations of thinking and learning, educators may ask open-ended and probing questions such as the following:

In the blocks area:

• “What is your goal for this structure? What do you want it to do?”
• “What isn't working? What do you need to make it work?”
• “What are you investigating?”
• “What materials are you thinking of using?”
• “Which tools will you need?”
• “What are you predicting will happen?”
• “I noticed that you …. Why did you do that? What was your plan?”
• “Did things turn out the way you thought they would? Why? Were there any surprises?”
• “What would happen if …? Why?”
• “Who else could help you with this?”

In the dramatic play area:

• “How did your friend show you what she was feeling without using words?”
• “What did you use to create the shelves for your market stand?”
• “How will people know who is the chef in the bakery and who is going to take their orders?”
• “What kind of voice would you use if you were sad? How would you change your voice if you were angry?”

In the visual arts area:

• “What gave you the idea for this picture?”
• “What changes have you made to improve it?”
• “What was your first idea? How has it changed? Why has it changed?”

See Chapter 1.2, “Play-Based Learning in a Culture of Inquiry” .

This whole creative process also presents abundant opportunities to document children's learning as it takes place. The educators and the learners are researchers in the inquiry in which they are involved. The educators record the child's attempts at solving a problem, including changes or adaptations the child has made. Together they interpret and reinterpret theories and events and, in doing so, they make the learning visible. The educators and the child can reflect together on the learning.

See Chapter 1.4, “Assessment and Learning in Kindergarten” .

Educator team reflection

One of the things we were excited about as we observed children engaged in play and exploration was the potential for teachable moments. We loved hearing children ask questions that allowed us to answer them and extend their vocabulary or knowledge about something.

After a while, we realized that every time we provided a quick answer to a question or pondering, their interest in it diminished. After reflecting on this, we began to respond to a question from a child with another question from us. We kept in mind the notion that it is better to ask than to tell, whenever possible. This kept us in an inquiry stance more often.

We were amazed at the innovative ideas that emerged when we stopped answering questions and stayed in the inquiry stance and simply asked more questions, demonstrating our interest and curiosity along with the children. We have really enjoyed our journey as co-learners with our young learners.

The role of learning in the outdoors in problem solving and innovating

Outdoor play also supports children's problem-solving skills and nurtures their creativity, as well as providing rich opportunities for their developing imagination, inventiveness and resourcefulness. (Council for Learning outside the Classroom, 2009, p. 1)

A rich integrated curriculum, the kind that needs the reality of the outdoors, serves children well. When we serve children well, we predicate a better future. (Rivkin, 1995, p. 81)

See “Laying the Foundations for Citizenship and Environmental Stewardship” in Chapter 2.1, “Thinking about Belonging and Contributing” .

The outdoor world offers an abundance of resources and materials for supporting problem solving and innovating. Educators and children can interact in a variety of learning environments, including the schoolyard, fields, and trails in the school neighbourhood. Plants and animals ( e.g. , an insect) that are found in the outdoors can give rise to many wonderings and discoveries. For example, the opportunity to observe the changes in the seasons from the perspective of a tree can lead to rich questions, discussion, and further learning. Children's imaginations are activated as they try to use natural materials for various purposes and to explore and care for the natural environment.

Learning in the outdoors provides opportunities for exploration through play. Dyment and Bell (2006) reported that there was a significant increase in children's engagement in learning opportunities such as investigating insects, exploring rocks, and looking at plants after their asphalt and turf-based playgrounds were modified with more diverse landscaping and design features. In addition, play and interactions in nature develop the capacity for creativity, problem solving, and intellectual development in children (Kellert, 2005).

Educators can pose questions such as the following to assist children in their inquiries in the outdoors:

• “How do you think a tree knows it is spring?”
• “What are your thoughts about why a tree loses its leaves in the fall?”
• “What do you think a tree needs to grow big and strong?”
• “In your view, what can we do to help and protect our tree?”
• “If you could have a conversation with a tree, what would you like to ask it?”

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Kindergarten

Problem solving and innovating, kindergarten program overview.

In Ontario, the Kindergarten program is made up of four “frames”, or broad areas of learning. This frame captures children’s learning and development with respect to:

• exploring the world through natural curiosity, in ways that engage the mind, the senses and the body;
• making meaning of their world by asking questions, testing theories, solving problems and engaging in creative and analytical thinking;
• the innovative ways of thinking about and doing things that arise naturally with an active curiosity, and applying those ideas in relationships with others, with materials and with the environment.

How to Use these Resources:

TVO Learn is designed to meet each child where they are on their learning journey. Learning Activities are comprehensive and require guided instruction from an adult. Interested in learning more? Explore the Ontario Kindergarten Program .

On this page:

Learning activities, resources for learning, apply the learning.

Learning Activities provide opportunities for deeper exploration of each frame of the Kindergarten program. A trusted adult should serve as a guide for each.

Please note: To access the learning activities, visit this page with a computer or tablet.

Looking for a Different Frame?

Choose from the options below to explore a different frame

Chosen by TVO educators, these resources support the curriculum outlined above. Review the below list of options along with the activities. Then, read, watch, listen or play to build understanding and knowledge.

Please be aware by accessing the resources below you will be leaving TVO Learn and entering other TVO domains that are subject to different privacy policies and terms of use.

Complete the suggested activities using these resources and other TVO resources.

Choose from the following to consolidate learning across all curriculum frames.

Choose an object around your home and compare its length to other objects. For example is the length of a pencil longer than a cereal box?

Create sentences with 10 of the words in the vocabulary list. Count the number of steps from your bed to the front door.

• Count the number of steps from your bed to the front door.
• Arrange objects in order of least to greatest mass.
• Imagine reading a story, where a boy said to his friend, “You broke my airplane!” What helps you understand how he might be feeling? What do you think the boy might do next?
• Think of a story you recently read or someone read to you. “Who was your favourite character and why?” “How did the ending of the story make you feel?”
• Make a poster to explain how showing care and respect for all living things helps to maintain a healthy environment
• Design and construct a device that uses energy to perform a task (for example, a kite that uses wind, an instrument that uses human energy to make sounds).
• How would you describe the park nearby? What in your opinion makes a park a good one? Are there things that all parks have? Why are parks considered to be important for communities to have? What role might they play?
• Draw a flower with a repeating pattern.
• Walk around your neighbourhood with a family member or guardian, spot up to 50 items that you see in nature. For example, can you find 10 leaves? Can you make these leaves into groups of 2s, 5s and 10s?
• Think about your favourite fairy tale. Role-play or dramatize the story using puppets or props by retelling the fairy tale including the main idea and important events. Make sure you do this in the right order.

Review this list of vocabulary associated with the curriculum. Practice spelling, research definitions, and find these vocabulary words when engaging with the TVO resources or completing learning activities.

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Problem Solving and Innovating

problem solving and innovating in kindergarten

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Ontario Kindergarten Report Card Comments (Communication of Learning Comments)

Problem Solving and Innovating Kindergarten Communication of Learning Comments

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FDK Learning Story Template (Ontario Kindergarten )

FREE TRIAL VERSION- The Comment Building Machine- ON. Kindergarten Report Writer

Kindergarten Problem Solving & Innovating /Inquiry Process Rubric

Merging Kindergarten , STEM, and Social Justice

Ontario Kindergarten Report Card Sentence Starters

NEW Ontario Kindergarten (FDK) Curriculum Expectations Checklist

Kindergarten Report Card Comments - PACKAGE (All four strands)

Ontario Kindergarten Specific Expectations by Frames Binder Checklists

Ontario FDK Kindergarten Four Frames Anecdotal Note Recording Sheets

Kindergarten Planning Templates

Kindergarten Report Card Comments - Problem Solving and Innovating

Kindergarten Problem Solving and Innovating Checklists | Assessment Tool

Ontario Catholic Kindergarten Choice Boards (38 Weeks + Template)

Kindergarten Weekly Planning Template (non-editable PDF) ~ Distance Learning

Ontario Kindergarten Progress Report Template (EDITABLE)

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NEW 2016 Ont. K Curriculum Checklist- Problem Solving & Innovating -32 students

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NEW 2016 Ont. K Curriculum Checklist- Problem Solving & Innovating -23 students

STEM Project | CitrusSustain - Innovating Orange Grove Agriculture

Daisy Create & Innovate Meeting Plans

Addition and Subtraction: Make Your Own Story Problems with Strategies

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Kindergarten Four Frame Program: Problem Solving and Innovating

• Belonging and Contributing
• Music and Movement!
• Demonstrating Literacy and Mathematics Behaviours
• Problem Solving and Innovating
• Parents & Friends

   The learning encompassed by this frame supports collaborative problem solving and bringing innovative ideas to relationships with others.   

Curriculum Expectations

This frame encompasses children's learning and development with respect to:

• exploring the world through natural curiosity, in ways that engage the mind, the senses, and the body;
• making meaning of their world by asking questions, testing theories, solving problems, and engaging in creative and analytical thinking;
• the innovative ways of thinking about and doing things that arise naturally with an active curiosity, and applying those ideas in relationships with others, with materials, and with the environment.

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K-Gr. 6: Teacher Resources

I Love Computers!

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All about COMPUTERS!!

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Activities to help practice mouse manipulation.

Keyboarding Skills

Activities to practice keyboard skills and alphabet recognition.

iPads & Tablets

iPads & tablets ~ goals for JK/SK students:

-Use the iPad (Drag items across the screen, tap items on the screen)

-vocabulary development

-letter/number/shape/alphabet recognition

-expressive language/speech practice

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Science and Innovation in Kindergarten Resources

Categories: General Interest , Lesson Plan , Unit Plan

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This resource was created by a team of Kindergarten educators to help educators to develop the skills and attitudes for students in the Early Years to become problem solvers and innovators. The resource highlights two important processes in the frame of Problem Solving and Innovating in the Kindergarten Program: The Inquiry Process and the Technological Problem-Solving Process.

Introduction to the Science and Innovation in Kindergarten Resources

Introduction to the Science and Innovation in Kindergarten Resources (pdf)

Introduction video for all resources

Projects that Engage Students in the Inquiry Process

Painting Inquiry

This project engages students in experimenting with different painting techniques, such as exploring mixing primary colours and painting with different tools. This project delves deeper in the inquiry process with the book, “The Colours of Us” to explore creating different shades of skin tones. This resource also makes connections to the outdoors and provides opportunities for students to explore colours they observe in the outdoors and how they can be recreated with paint.

Download the PowerPoint (neutral background)

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Garden Inquiry

This project engages students in engaging in the inquiry process about gardens in their community. It provides opportunities for students to learn more about gardens through picture books, outdoor exploration, creating art pieces and classroom discussions. It also provides students with a chance to delve deeper in hands-on exploration about how plants grow and stay healthy.

Butterfly Inquiry

This project engages students in the inquiry process about butterflies in their school community. They have opportunities to explore the differences in appearance between different insects such as butterflies and moths through class conversations, drawings, picture books and online resources.

Family Inquiry

This project engages students in the inquiry process about their families, families in their classroom and animal families. Students have opportunities to discuss families through read alouds, outdoor experiences and guest speakers. They will also delve deeper in exploring concepts about home, including building homes with loose parts and different

Projects that Engage Students in the Technological Problem Solving Process

Introduction to the Technological Problem Solving Process

The Goldilocks Coding Project

This project uses the story “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” to engage students in different stages of the technological problem solving process in the Kindergarten Program document. Students can design structures that Goldilocks can build to replace items that she broke. It also engages students in a coding project that guides her path to reach the bear’s home.

Movement Project

This project uses the story “Stuck” by Oliver Jeffers to engage students in the different stages of the technological problem solving process in the Kindergarten Program document. Students will have opportunities to create structures that boy in the story can use to retrieve items that get stuck in a tree.

Creating a Garden Wall

This project engages students in the different stages of the technological problem solving process in the Kindergarten Program document with the story “Butterfly Park” by Elly MacKay. Students have an opportunity to engage in creating a living wall and analyzing how it grows and how improvements can be made on it.

Accessible Playground

This project engages students in the different stages of the technological problem solving process in the Kindergarten Program document with the story “Zoom!” by Robert Munsch. Students have an opportunity to analyses school play structures in their school community and discuss whether it is accessible for all characters in the story, “Zoom!” After analyzing the structure, students will discuss and design changes that can be made to the structures so that it is accessible for different abilities.

Related Resources:

The animal kingdom (chordates).

Categories: Lab/Student Activity , Lesson Plan

Written by Amanda Choi, Don Galbraith Award Winner, 2019-20, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education In this lesson, students will learn to distinguish characteristics of animals within the... read more

USING D2L AS A BLENDED LEARNING PLATFORM FOR SNC1D AND SPH4U

Categories: General Interest

Futurists predict that those who work in jobs that require lower education and lower skill sets have a higher chance to have their jobs lost or restructured while those that require greater education... read more

HYDROPONIC VERTICAL GARDEN WITH NUTRIENT TESTING

Categories: Lab/Student Activity , Unit Plan

The purpose of this project is to promote innovation, sustainable water use, and the recycling of materials via the creation of vertical gardens. Four RDSB schools collaborated using Google Hangouts... read more

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Kindergarten Lessons

Involve me and I learn...

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KINDERGARTEN PROBLEM SOLVING

Learning how to approach and solve problems early in life, not only helps children enjoy and look forward to sorting them out, it also helps them make and keep friends.

Preschool and kindergarten problem solving activities give children an opportunity to use skills they have learned previously and give you an opening to teach new problem solving strategies.

Introduce the vocabulary of solving problems with stories, puppets and everyday situations that occur. “We only have 10 apples but there are 20 students. This is a problem . Let’s think of some ways that we can solve this problem ?”

Use terms like, “a different way, let’s brainstorm, that’s a challenge, let’s think of some different solutions”.

How do I develop a problem solving approach?

Asking children questions such as , “How would you…?” or “Show me how you could…?”, help set the stage for teaching with a problem solving approach. Keep problem solving topics about subjects that interest the students. Kids are constantly trying to problem solve as they play.

Students are learning to:

• Identify problems or challenges
• Fact find (what do I know, what have I tried)
• Think of ways to solve the problem (brainstorm, creative thinking, generate ideas)
• Test their ideas

What preschool and kindergarten problem solving strategies can I teach?

Young children need real objects, pictures, diagrams, and models to solve problems. Start with real objects and move slowly to diagrams and pictures. Any of the following problem solving strategies will help them work through the four steps above:

• using objects
• acting the problem out
• looking for patterns
• guessing and checking
• drawing pictures
• making a graph
• teach with projects

Play creates classroom opportunities for problem solving

Perhaps a child is getting frustrated as he/she plays with blocks. To help him/her focus on the problem ask questions such as:

• What are you trying to do with your blocks?
• What isn’t working?
• What have you tried?
• Can you think of another way to stack the blocks?
• What else can you try?

Encourage creative thinking

Reinforce creative thinking, not results. The ability to solve problems and think creativity is important.

Talk about the different ways the child tried to solve the problem rather than the outcome. “Joe tried three different ways to stack the blocks. That was a great effort, Joe.”

Social classroom problem solving opportunities are abundant…

• Identify the problem – – Talk about the problem. For instance, some children may be worried because other kids are hiding the center markers for the play center and giving them to their friends. Other kids are not getting turns.
• Fact find – – There are only 4 center markers for the play center because it is small and more than 4 kids would be too crowded. Some kids are hiding them so they can play with the same children each time.
• Brainstorm ideas – How can everyone have turns? What ideas do you have? What could we try?
• Test the idea – Let’’s try that idea and meet again tomorrow and see how it’s working.

Investigating and Problem Solving

Using short periods of time examining and investigating objects, such as feathers or rocks, captures children’s attention and challenges them to inquire, to develop mind sets of being problem solvers and to think independently. Find a sample lesson here…