Today I  observed one of our Pre k teachers, Monica Breeding, reading the children’s classic book, Chica Chica Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. At the conclusion of the book, she gave the children a design challenge. The children were asked to draw a prototype of a standing Chica Boom Boom tree that they could make utilizing the supplies on the table. The students worked in pairs (assigned by Ms. Breeding ) as they looked at the materials on the table and drew a prototype of  a standing Chica Chica Boom tree.

Available supplies:

• a few small wooden blocks
• small brown pom poms
• green  popsicle sticks
• paper towel rolls cut in half
• small plastic letters
• paper and markers

Once their first design was completed, they used the supplies provided to build their tree. The ability of these children to problem solve was amazing. One group had problems with their branches falling off the tree trunk. They tried placing a single branch on until it balanced. Phrases like “make it equal” and “it’s got to be the same on both sides” were heard when describing their process. Another pair of 4 year olds were having a great deal of trouble with their branches and their coconuts falling through the trunk. The children came up with a solution that Ms. Breeding had not even envisioned when she set out the supplies. They inserted a narrow rectangular block into their trunk in order to balance the branches and coconuts. This is a perfect example of the ideate mode of design thinking. According to A Introductory Guide to Design Thinking, the ideate stage is when children “Uncover unexpected areas of exploration.” When asked, they showed me where they added this solution to their drawing.  “We built something else but in a different way.” was how they explained their  process. Throughout the challenge the children were problem solving while they built their communication skills with their peers as well as with the visiting adults. As I left the classroom, I heard voices filled with a sense of pride and accomplishment asking if they could use their iPads to take pictures of their Chica Chica Boom Boom trees.

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