Problem Solving with Young Children: Building Creativity, Critical Thinking, and Resilience

Develop strategies for helping children become creative problem solvers

Whether it’s building a rocket, learning to take turns, or forgetting a teaching material at home, both children and adults learn more from our mistakes than from our successes. Help children find solutions and learn to problem solve using teachable moments. Young children encounter problems, mistakes, and accidents that challenge them daily. Helping children conquer everyday frustrations fosters the creativity, critical thinking, and resilience that enables children to thrive in a formidable world. The ultimate guide to thinking on your feet, Problem Solving with Young Children will coach early childhood teachers, child care providers, and parents to develop a range of strategies to help young children become creative problem solvers, including:

Questions to ask

Ways to listen

Strategies for brainstorming and trying solutions

Suggestions for using the scientific method or design thinking to test ideas

Methods for reflecting on what worked and what still needs improvement

Featuring anecdotes and advice, and incorporating research on how children learn, emergent curriculum methods, problem-based learning, developmentally appropriate practices, and responsive pedagogies, this book will help you lead children through meaningful problem-solving processes and prepare tomorrow’s critical thinkers.