www.womanthismonth.com 89 April 2013 | Problem Solving In summary, in relation to problem solving, Ann Epstein (2007) talks about teachers being intentional in their actions by: l Keeping in mind key goals for learning and development l Creating supportive environments l Curriculum planning and l Selecting from a variety of teaching strategies that promote thinking and skills Encouraging play At the onset, keep an open mind. Just like when you encourage your child to try a variety of foods, exposing them to a variety of children and experiences is important too. Take your child out to visit museums, parks, beaches, to see animals, to interactive science centres, to browse around toy shops and libraries because all these places stimulate their imagination. When you visit other homes, watch to see which toys or activities are exciting to your child. Try to avoid labelling toys as gender specific. Instead, allow your child to play with everything available to them. As your child develops, their interests will change, so be flexible enough to follow their lead. When a toy or activity is no longer age appropriate and challenging, your child will lose interest. When you buy toys, begin with basics. Consider toys that have more than one function, require imagination, and provide a challenge; for example, there are bricks or building blocks of many kinds for different age levels. Music is a fabulous stimulus for play and creativity as it offers a range of activities, including singing, playing instruments and dancing. Allow your child the space to use alternatives to normal instruments such as pan lids! Art and craft materials are multi-functional as well, and they stimulate imagination and introduce challenges. You can learn a great deal about your child, and yourself, through play. Embrace creativity On a grander scale many believe that creativity is the key to enabling technological innovations, which impact our economic survival and the future needs of society. Creativity, in reality, is not a simple concept; it is somewhat complex in that it includes related elements. It is a personality characteristic or attitude that involves mental flexibility, impulsiveness, curiosity and determination. Children judged to be very creative display evidence of persistence, self-confidence, high energy levels, flexibility, openness to new experiences and a good sense of humour. They may also display intrapersonal awareness, awareness of their own feelings and emotions. These attributes are also important as your child becomes more and more independent, so think of ways that they can be encouraged. What can you take away from this as a parent? Children need activities where they can be fully engrossed in their play. Educator Ann Epstein calls this child-guided. They also need to be adult-guided for some activities or at certain times and they also need a combination of the two. What you can do is be aware of when you are over-guiding. Step back at that point to enjoy observing play just happen! Further Reading Burke, Anne (2010) Ready to Learn: Using Play to Build Literacy Skills in Young Learners, Pembroke Publishing Ltd Epstein, Ann (2007) The Intentional Teacher: Choosing the best Strategies for Young Children’s Learning, National Association for the Education of Young Children, Washington DC.
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