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.

I am excited to bring you another review for a new part of our homeschooling day. C has been working on her “outside the box” thinking with the book Creative Problem Solving Level 1 from The Critical Thinking Co.™ This book helps young children (Ages 4-Grade 2) to start thinking outside the box and creatively.

Book Overview

This book is created to start children on the path to thinking creatively. There are 11 sections to this book:

• The Magic Pencil
• The Creature Factory
• Superheroes and Super Powers
• Alien Designer
• The Inventor
• The Crisis Specialist
• The Best Tool
• The Enigma
• The Mind Ride
• 2-D and 3-D Figures and Shading
• Play with Mechanisms

We were only able to work with the first two sections as we needed a lot of explanation for C to understand what to do. My favorite of the two sections was the first section. I think C really understood this section and had fun with it. In this section children are asked to draw something to help someone or something. I would read her the scenario and kinda talk her through what are some of the possibilities to help the character.

The second section was about creating a creature to survive a specific habitat. C did not understand this section as easily. She would get stuck on the animals or creatures already in the picture. One new thing C started to practice with this section was writing the names of the creatures a few times on her own.

The next section is almost the opposite of the second section. In Habitat Challenge, the children are asked to draw a habitat around a creature. I don’t know if C will understand this, but we will attempt it once we are done with the second section.

Two of the other sections, Superheroes and Super Powers and The Best Tool, sound like a lot of fun. The children are given a situation and suggestions that could help the situation. They then write about which one they would choose. This is cool, but the writing will all have to be done orally right now for C or she could draw it on another piece of paper.

Another section called The Enigma might actually make sense to C right now. The children are given a figure and they have to make it into something else. Before drawing, they brainstorm some different ideas. The brainstorming could easily be done aloud and then she could draw her favorite idea.

The last two sections do require children to gather some supplies to look at 2-D and 3-D shapes and shading as well as machines. These are very hands on challenges that might require some extra help.

Thoughts?

I was a little taken back when I first received the book. As I flipped through it, I thought there is no way my 3 year old is going to be able to do these things. Even my husband was a bit bewildered when I showed it to him. BUT, then I sat down with C and she actually picked up the first section very quickly. She was able to talk through a few simple ideas and then draw them. I was very impressed. I guess I had underestimated her. She asks for the “Big Book” every day when we do school work. I think she likes that she can create her own things without being right or wrong. This is very freeing for a child.

I will say the challenges do get trickier. This is great if you have an older child. I think a kindergartener or a 1st grader would love this book. They would be able to understand the different concepts and create on their own easily. I will say don’t underestimate your own child though. They can do more than we think (as I am daily reminded by C).

It also spans a wide age range so it will not be one of those “wasted” books. You can use it with your child for a long time. Also if you have children that are close in age, they could all benefit from it by brainstorming out loud or working together on the problems. The projects at the end could be great family projects.

I really liked that this book was very different from anything else I have done with C. Her work usually has right and wrong answers so this provides her a bit of a creative outlet!

One of the bad things is that there is a lot of writing. If your child struggles with handwriting or doesn’t write yet, you might have to dictate for them since many of the times there are open ended questions to expand on the challenge. This is also a great thing because it forces the children to not just create, but be very thoughtful about what they are creating and why.

This book is very big and bulky and because of this it will last a long time with your child. The book will fit nicely on any bookshelf and not get messed up.

Read More

The Critical Thinking Co.™ has books that go all the way up to Grade 12. Be sure to check out the other Homeschool Review Crew reviews to find a book that might be a great fit for your child!

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