Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
Being able to think creatively is such an important skill. When I had the opportunity to review Creative Problem Solving Level 1 from The Critical Thinking Co.™, I was excited to check it out.
He was super excited to get started!
What Is This Product?
A consumable workbook, Creative Problem Solving Level 1 has eleven different chapters of fun problems to solve. Each chapter has a different focus, allowing students to use different types of problem solving skills.
As they work through the problems, students can write or draw their answer right on the pages. This makes it simple to flip back through and see the progress.
The book starts off with mostly drawing based answers, and then slowly requires more writing. For younger kids, you can be the scribe for them. This can be a great way to help them focus on the problem solving and not get hung up on the writing component. I scribed for my son, as he wanted to use lots of words he didn’t yet know how to spell and was getting too frustrated trying to write.
The first chapter of the book asks students to use their “Magic Pencil” to help solve problems. In this one, students were asked to draw something to help the man catch the fish. My son decided to draw a powerful wave popping up just under the fish.
He told me that the wave would push the fish up out of the water so it’d be easier to pull it up. It definitely wasn’t a solution I would have thought of, because I would have just drawn a net. I love how creative kids can be!
Here’s another one from this chapter. The sloth was falling from the tree, and you had to use your pencil to save it. My son decided to draw a pillow sling to catch him.
The next chapter problems describes a habitat. Then, it asks kids to draw an imaginary creature that could survive in it. My son decided that a Spiny Star could live on this imaginary Planet Sharp.
As your child works through the chapters, they will get lots of practice thinking creatively and coming up with unusual solutions.
We haven’t yet gotten to this section, but as you can see, the problems get a bit more complex as the book continues. In this one, there’s a longer paragraph to read, a place for a drawing, and a place to write.
How Did We Use This Product?
I had my son do one lesson each day. Some days he wanted to do more, so he did. It was neat to watch his brain work as he tried to come up with solutions.
This was a very quick addition to our homeschool. It typically took five minutes or less for the first, drawing based chapter. As they got harder, this time went up. I read aloud the directions and then scribed for him where needed. This process took about 10-15 minutes, so it still was a fairly low time commitment.
What Did We Think of This Product?
My son really liked this book. He said the problems were fun to solve and that some of them made him think hard. A couple of times, he went and asked a sibling for input. It was neat to see them work together to solve problems.
The only thing I didn’t like about the book is that it seems a bit complex for many kids in the recommended age range. Especially the reading and the writing portion. It’s not something you can turn your kids loose with. You will need to be involved.
But, once we got in the habit of working on this together, it was a fun addition to our day.
All in all, this was a product I’d highly recommend.
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