Super Heroes Solve Problems.
Super Heroes Solve Problems.
Today our super hero was a problem solver. Many preschoolers have not developed cognitively enough yet to be problem solvers – at least not on a large scale and almost always not when it concerns someone other than themselves. Preschoolers are egocentric . They believe the world revolves around them. They may tackle a problem solving skill with patience if it means they will get what they want in the end.
Problem solving is a great skills to have and it opens many avenues of opportunities in the future. Anything that is new to them ( to us ) is just a new problem that we need to figure out . You can teach your child to problem solve by allowing them to take on small problems and not coming to the rescue too quickly. When you see them getting frustrated you might offer assistance in the form of a question. What would happen if…. ? Do you think it would help to … ?
The other day I watched on of our little friends take a loose part board in the play area and move it around for about 15 minutes to make a ramp. I was taking a video but them we had a melt down on another side of the playground and I had to so a little problem solving myself. It was interesting while it lasted to watch this little guys eyes as he thought about what to do next. After each attempt he would try to make it higher and then walk down it. Finally when he leaned it on the picnic table he got to the top and yelled ” Look ! Look ! Look what Idid. ” I could have A. stopped him and said , that is a bad idea you might fall , take it down or B. Put it over here and see how high it is. Either would have stopped him in his tracks of problem solving. If I remember correctly I did say ” That looks pretty tall. If you fall it will hurt . ” I think I even said it two or three times. I believe in children taking supervised risks. He learned so much more in those 15 minutes than I taught him all day and the joy on his face was wonderful.
in other news we practiced our cutting skills today on a spider web. The kids cutting is so much better since the first of the school year. I encourage you to let them sit at the table and cut . They can cut magazine, strips of ribbon , newspaper coupons !
Grr…. my adobe flash is out of date and I cant add pictures on here. Day two.. fail. Ill post the pictures on FB.