Activity 1: (15 minutes) PROBLEM SOLVING

Review the Pyramid of Happiness poster. Review the fourth and fifth level of the pyramid and perform that action (strike a superhero pose and star-jump with arms and legs spread out wide). Make the connection of how being able to solve our own problems leads to a happier and healthier life. This makes us the best version of ourselves! Remind students about the actions associated with each level of the pyramid. Have a discussion: A problem is when something isn’t going well. A solution is when we fix the problem. Sometimes problems have easy solutions. Sometimes problems are hard to fix. Often, there is more than one way to solve a problem. We use a skill called creativity when solving problems. Being creative means finding lots of new ways to solve a problem. Practice your problem-solving skills by finding ways to fix the following problems:

• You spilled some milk.
• You only have one cookie, but your brother wants one too.
• You are afraid of the dark.
• Your friend won’t play with you.
• You miss your grown up while at school.
• You can’t get all your stuff into your backpack.
• You can’t find the toy that you want to play with.
• What is a problem that you have?

Have a discussion:

• What is the easiest way to solve these problems?
• Can you use your creativity to find more than one solution to these problems?
• How do you feel when you solve a problem?
• How do you feel when you can’t solve a problem?

Activity 2: (15 minutes) INVENTIONS SOLVE PROBLEMS Many of the things that we use were invented or created to solve a problem. Use the Invention Visuals provided in the lesson as you talk about each item and the problem that it solved.

1. Cars! Before cars, people could walk, ride horseback, or ride in a horse-drawn wagon to get where they needed to go. This took a long time, could be dangerous, and relied on a horse’s health to get from place to place. Eventually, a group of engineers and scientists created a motorized way to get around quicker and safer. They solved a major problem!
2. Telephone! Before telephones, the fastest way people could communicate was through writing letters. This took a really long time, and the farther the letter had to travel, the longer it took. This was a challenge for many people who needed faster communication that couldn’t get stolen or lost. So, the telephone was invented! After the original telephone was invented, cellphones were invented. This solved another problem of only being able to communicate while at home.
3. Refrigerators! Before refrigerators, it was a challenge to keep food cold and from going bad. People would keep food cool by storing it in a cold river (if they were lucky to live by one), or just had to get by without ice or cold milk or cold snacks like ice cream! Meat was hard to store without rotting, so people would dry the meat (like beef jerky) and eat that. Refrigerators helped solve so many problems and made having a wide variety of food easier.

There are lots of inventions that help us solve problems. Watch this video about how crayons are made. How many different steps does it take to make a crayon? Each one of those steps is a different problem to solve. You can use your creativity to invent new things and solve problems.

• What problem would you like to solve?
• Is there an invention that would help you solve the problem?

Activity 3: (10 minutes) THE MOST MAGNIFICENT THING When we need to solve a problem, what can we do?

• Decide what the problem is.
• Think about ways to fix it.
• Use our curiosity to ask questions.
• Talk with others/share ideas.
• Make a plan.
• Try the plan.

If the plan doesn’t work the first time, and the problem isn’t fixed, then:

• Take a break if you need to.
• Get help from someone else.
• Think about what didn’t work, and new ways to fix the problem.
• Keep trying.

Look for these steps as you read The Most Magnificent Thing, by Ashley Spires, or watch the read-aloud video. Talk about all the strategies the little girl used to solve her problem.

Activity 4: (15 minutes) USING CREATIVITY TO SOLVE A PROBLEM

Read, Not a Box, by Antoinette Portis or watch the read-aloud video by Storytime Now. Talk about how the rabbit in the story showed his creativity in using the same box in many different ways.

Provide lots of differently sized boxes for the children to play in. Encourage them to use their creativity to find different ways to use the boxes.

Activity 5: (10 minutes) PROBLEM SOLVING TO BUILD Collect an assortment of building materials such as paper cups, paper, tape, clothespins, etc. Encourage the children to see how high they can build a tower using these materials provided. If the tower won’t stand, how can they make it work?