Once a design for the door was selected, the children set to work on recreating the prototype to match the scale of the fire truck. This required measuring the space, preparing the materials, and then assembling the pieces. Upon completion, the group encountered a challenge – the frame failed to stand on its own. They decided to bring this to reflection meeting and Matan introduced the idea of using the T-shaped frames as the base. When the group met again to execute this idea, they noticed the door slipped out of the frames.
Teacher Susan: What are some ideas for stabilizing the frame?
Austen: Maybe use duct tape and tape it.
Evera: I know. Maybe we can use those tubes on the front and then we can tape it.
Teacher Susan: How will the tubes stabilize the frame?
Sol: So if we put the tape on the tubes, it’ll push that thing in there and keep it stable so it won’t slip.
Austen: And we can put duct tape on the bottom so it won’t disconnect.
The group implemented their ideas and were excited to discover that it worked. Since its inception, this project has been a doorway into many challenges. These moments invited the children to engage in collaborative problem solving by listening to different perspectives and through trial they determined which ideas would solve the problem encountered. With continued experiences, the children’s confidence in navigating these challenges has grown and their responding resilience is evident as they continue to move forward.