Developing our problem solving skills.

Because of the different individual problem solving skills we have noticed at the start of this week we as a teaching team have decided to follow the afternoon children's lead in problem solving and provide activities and experiences to extend this skill and Habit of Mind with our afternoon children.  

As a teaching team we have put some intentional teaching strategies in place to support and encourage children's problem solving skills. Through providing resources that are open ended like tyres, nets, pipes and ropes the children are able to follow their ideas and use this equipment to problem solve. 

As a team we decided to provide opportunities for the children to think flexibly by putting normal resources out in different ways, upside down and wacky, that way they have to fix or change the equipment to use it.

Today we did exactly that, inside we turned the playdough table upside down and then put the playdough on the chairs, we had an interesting reponse some children just carried on and played with the playdough on the chairs while they sat on the floor. 

Mia thought about the problem and decided that we needed to try and turn it back up the right way, so it was how it normally was, "How were we going to do this?" I asked so she found some friends and they tried to lift the table, "Its too heavy" Mia said so off she went to get some more friends. Again the table was too heavy to shift so instead of shifting it they found some unique ways of using the table upside down, the legs become coat hangers! He rawe tēnā, this is great! 

Outside the problem solving continued, when Jacob arrived at kindergarten he noticed that the trolleys were upside down, hmmm how can we use an upside down trolley? The problem solving began, he pulled the trolley like he would if it was up the correct way, oh no it didnt move. 

It wasnt long until some of Jacob's friends where over to problem solve with him. 

Charlotte discovered she needed to problem solve up on the climbing frame to get across our rope bridge, she pushed and pulled to move the pot plants out of the way so she could climb onto the bridge, thats good thinking, he pai koe ki te whakaaro pena.

When Charlotte got to the other side she had to again solve how to move the next pot plant while carefully ballancing on the rope bridge. 

What an eventful afternoon the children had.