Problem Solving Activities for Preschoolers
A child’s first learning school is his home. Research shows that games and activities help children to learn more. Problem solving strategies can be adopted by a kid in his early childhood. Problem solving activities are the activities that help children to learn strategies and work out by taking the right decisions at the right times. A child can learn more when he is engaged in physical and mental activities. Kids who grew up in a dormant childhood are more likely to be timid, indecisive adults, while those who grew up with activities are more smart adults. Preschool time is the time when kids learn with their parents more effectively. Problem solving activities provoke critical thinking and potential analysis.
7 Problem Solving Activities for Preschoolers:
Following are activities where you can engage your child before sending him to school:
I’M BEING SILLY:
Engage your kid in a story. I am being silly is a kind of story telling game, where a kid needs to figure out the scenarios in a story. Start with a simple story, keep describing it until the child develops interest in it, and then bump into a silly unnatural explanation. Keep narrating, until your kid indulges in pointing out your silly explanations.
This is to provoke their listening instincts and highlighting the boundary between right and wrong. It can be started with a normal story i.e. you start explaining your daily routine, and start acting silly, until your child interrupts about how is that even possible? You can customize the difficult level as per your child’s mental capability of detecting the scenario.
COLLECT SEA SHELLS AND COINS:
Give time to your child, and involve in physical activities of collecting sea shells and coins. Coins collection will help them learn mathematics. Teach them addition and subtraction while sharing the coins. Sea shells are different in patterns, teach them color and patterns of lines on seashells. Preschoolers can learn a lot if they are engaged in such activities without pressuring them for cramming book knowledge.
SKILLFUL PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES:
Involve your kid in activities that involve skill as well. A problem- solving mind needs to be skillful. Involve your kid in problem solving yet skillful activities like playing hide-and-seek while cycling. Physical activities are the body’s physical needs. Engage young kids physically in problem solving techniques for exertion.
YOUR CHILD SHOULD KNOW USING CLOCK:
Preschoolers need to learn basics at home or school. Reading time on a clock is one of the highest achievements a child can learn at school. Ask them to read time. Make sure your kid knows about the hands of the clock, make them understand the abstract concept of time. Talk about time, use digital and analogue clocks at home, set a target to be fulfilled in specific time. Such practices make children learn the basics before joining school.
COOK AND BAKE WITH YOUR CHILD:
Cooking can be really fun with your child. Involve your kid while cooking and baking. Help them understand the colors and the right amount. This involvement of children during housework keeps an insight of duties at home. Ask them to add spices and salt as per your mentioned quantity. Directing them will help them follow directions. Keep repeating your directions so they can learn it too.
REWARD BASED GAMES:
The Psychology of Rewards based learning shows that learning is more effective when reward is involved. Indulge your kid in reward based games i.e. ask them to make their bed and award them their favourite chocolate, ask them to keep their space clean for three days and take them to a small trip, ask them to organize their closet and gift your child with their favourite stationary material. Small games at home bring long term changes in a child’s growth and learning.
KEEP IN VIEW THE INTEREST OF YOUR CHILD:
Make sure you are aware of your child’s interests. If your kid is interested in colors and painting, involve him in painting or activities related to colors i.e. painting the garden pots, poster painting etc. If your child is interested in reading, give him books and make small visits to libraries. Involve your child in gardening, cycling, clay toys making, puzzles, sudoku, scrabble and spelling bees. This will help them grow in curricular and non-curricular activities.
5 Problem Solving Games for Preschoolers:
Following are 5 games you can introduce at home for your child. Colorful games play a very important role in building problem solving strategies.
1. BUILD A BRIDGE:
Colorful blocks can help children to engage in shaping the blocks. Building bridges, small buildings and other things provoke a spatial thinking in young preschooler kids.
2. MATCHING ANIMAL WITH SOUNDS:
Mobile applications and several toys are available where kids can match sounds with animals. Domestic animals and birds i.e. cats, dogs, sparrows, parrots etc can be learnt via this way.
3. MAZE:
Maze building is one of the most effective games involving physical yet mental skills. Maze can be easily made up of cushions, pillows and other common home accessories. It improves creative thinking and engages in physical activity as well.
4. PLAY DOUGH CREATIVITY:
It is one of the most common games, where china clay, a colorful sandy play dough is used to shape different patterns. Play dough is used in schools and at homes to encourage the child’s creativity.
5. INDOOR CARROM BOARD GAMES:
Playing indoor games like carrom board, chess and ludo help kids improve their thinking ability and is very effective in problem solving strategies. Indoor games are very effective in building a relationship between parents and the child.
