At the heart of problem solving is wondering about the things we notice in our world. This week at Tinkergarten Anywhere, we focus on inquiry as we observe and wonder about the creatures in our outdoor spaces. Then, explorers use the natural objects around them to build a cozy winter nest.
The Guide
Step 1: Watch the I Wonder… video lesson.
Hop into your My Tinkergarten dashboard to watch the Lesson 2: I Wonder video lesson. Kids can watch how Meghan and other explorers create cozy nests, then get inspired to play in their outdoor spaces!
Not enrolled in Tinkergarten? Find out how to enroll in our Winter season here.
Step 2: Wonder together.
Take a moment to wonder together what the creatures in your area are doing this time of year. Which creatures are active in your outdoor spaces? Which ones have left for the season? Which creatures might still be there, but out of sight, cozying up for the winter? What else is your child wondering about the creatures in your area?
Step 3: Observe and ask questions.
Suggest that you take a walk outside together and use your discovery tools (senses) to see what you can find out about the creatures in your outdoor spaces. As you walk, look up high and down low for signs of creatures big and small. Model curiosity by noticing aloud what you see and hear (and which creatures you do not see and hear) and share your own wonderings.
Younger explorers need not verbally ask questions aloud. When you model your own curiosity and welcome exploration, you are supporting kids in noticing and wondering about their world. If kids do wonder aloud, it’s okay not to have the answer—it’s the question that’s important. You can say, “What a wonderful question! I wonder how we could find out more about that?”
Step 4: Invite cozy nest play.
Wonder, “Do you think we could make a cozy nest for a creature friend?” Download and print these images of hedgehogs and invite kids to create a cozy hedgehog nest just like Meghan does in the video lesson. Or, invite kids to make a cozy nest for one of the creatures you observed and wondered about on your walk. Or, make a cozy fort or nest for themselves!
Wonder together where would be a good spot to make a cozy nest. What could you use to build your nest? Support kids with gathering sticks, leaves, and other materials for their nest. Help kids gather materials and offer teamwork as feels supportive as they build their nests. Three approaches that explorers in Tinkergarten classes have used:
Use the hole in the bottom of a tree and cover it with branches, greens, etc.
Make a small lean-to against a tree using sticks covered with leaves and grasses.
Dig a hole and build a stick and mud roof over the hole.
Extend Play—Build a cozy hideaway for explorers!
For a simple hideaway, all you need is a bed sheet or tarp and something to drape it over (i.e. tree branch, table, chairs). You can also offer some simple construction materials, like duct tape, bungee cords or string. Work together as a team in imagining, planning and building a hideaway using your materials.
Once the hideaway is up, let kids have at it. Decorate the inside or outside of their hideaway with their favorite nature treasures. Bring favorite books, stuffed animals or special objects inside. If weather allows, leave the hideaway in place for a few days and invite your child to invent new ways to use and play in their special space.
Why is this activity great for kids?
We can think about problems as questions we don’t yet know the answer to—and a great way to answer a question you don’t know the answer to is to keep asking questions!
This activity also invites kids to think about the needs of another creature, which supports the development of empathy. Gathering and arranging objects to create cozy nests activates several behavioral schema, most notably transporting and enclosing. Such a task can also supports kids' ability to persist through challenges. Finally, using found objects to create a cozy space for a pretend creature supports creativity and imaginative play.
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By creativity, we mean the ability to both imagine original ideas or solutions to problems and actually do what needs to be done to make them happen. So, to help kids develop creativity, we parents need to nurture kids' imaginations and give them lots of chances to design, test, redesign and implement their ideas.
"Creativity is as important now in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.”
Why, you ask? For one, it is through being creative that a person is able to get senses, sensibility and spirit working together. Simply put, without creativity, we don't think our kids will live a full life.
On a more practical level, it's also the means by which humans of all ages make an impact on the world and other people around them. A lot of heavy stuff is going to go down in our kids' lifetime, and their generation will need to imagine and implement solutions to big and very complicated problems. Although our kids are still far from public office or the boardroom, today's political and business leaders worldwide are already pointing to creativity as the most important leadership quality for the future.
Although years from the art studio or design lab, little kids can learn to think and act creatively if you give them time and the right practice.
Curiosity
Category:
Thinking Skills
What does it mean to develop Curiosity?
Curiosity means the ability and habit to apply a sense of wonder and a desire to learn more. Curious people try new things, ask questions, search for answers, relish new information, and make connections, all while actively experiencing and making sense of the world. To us, curiosity is a child’s ticket to engaging fully in learning and, ultimately, in life.
Why does it matter?
As a parent, this skill is, perhaps, the easiest to grasp and has the clearest connection to a young children’s learning. We all want my children to wonder, explore and drive their own learning and, better yet, to experience the world fully. Most teachers would agree that the curious children so often seem more attentive, involved and naturally get the most out of time in school. Even the research suggests that being curious is a driver of higher performance throughout one's life, as much if not more than IQ or test scores.
Problem Solving
Category:
Thinking Skills
What are Problem Solving Skills?
When we talk about problem solving, we mean the ability to solve a problem in which the solution is not obvious and in which the possible paths to solution are many. To solve such problems, kids will need two things. First, they’ll need the self confidence and comfort to both attempt to find and persist in finding a solution. The only way to develop this is to be given the chance to struggle with ambiguous situations or open-ended problems. We parents are all guilty, from time to time, of helping kids avoid struggle or swooping in to alleviate frustration when our kid encounters challenge. The goal is actually to do the opposite whenever possible. As long as the problem is not too difficult to understand or challenging to solve, even young kids can get comfortable with the feeling of not knowing the solution and fall in love with the joy of finding a solution to a problem.
Kids also need strategies to attack problems with which they are faced. If adults are able to work with kids to solve problems “as a team” but in such a way that the children feel and act “in charge” of the decisions, adults can actually teach foundation problem solving skills and strategies through modeling. For example, when you solve a problem together, kids get practice with key parts of the process like brainstorming, testing ideas, revision and solution. It’s also pretty easy to model how to use simple strategies like trial and error or breaking a problem down into smaller parts. Although children age 1 to 7 should not be expected to name, catalog or identify when to use a particular problem solving strategy, they are able to form habits and repeat approaches once those habits or approaches have become familiar. The more problems they solve, the better they know and can use these methods.
Why does it matter?
“The highest ranked skills for students entering the workforce were not facts and basic skills; they were applied skills that enable workers to use the knowledge and basic skills they have acquired” (Source: Are They Really Ready for Work? Conference Board 2006).
Although it seems a long way to go before our young children are hitting the job market, the ability to solve challenging, ambiguous problems has already been identified as a critical skill for success in the 21st Century. With advances in technology, finding information has never been easier. However, knowing how to interpret a problem and use available information to devise a solution still needs to be learned. And, we fear that the classrooms of today are neither designed nor incentivized to teach these skills effectively. In most schools, so much time is spent learning discrete skills, that applied skills like problem solving are wildly underemphasized. In a world that demands it, it is increasingly necessary that children learn and practice these skills outside of school.
Age: 0 to 8+
Time: 1 hour+
Materials: printable hedgehog images; objects from nature
