Looking for a fun way to get kids thinking, creating and coming up with ideas of their own this October?
Try an Innovation Challenge.
Instead of showing kids exactly what to make or giving them step-by-step instructions, an Innovation Challenge gives them an interesting place to start.
They decide where to take it.
They might design something, build something, invent something, write a story, solve a problem or come up with an idea you never would have thought of.
There isn’t one right answer. And there isn’t a finished example they’re supposed to copy.
Give them a question. Let them own the answer.
To make it easy to get started, we created a free printable October Innovation Challenge Board filled with 25 open-ended challenges inspired by candy, spiders and bats, Halloween, pumpkins and the full moon.
Let your kid choose what sounds interesting, grab some materials and see where the idea goes.
What Is an Innovation Challenge?
An Innovation Challenge is an open-ended prompt that gives kids a starting point without deciding the outcome for them.
For example:
Design a candy machine.
That’s the challenge.
We don’t show them what the machine should look like. We don’t give them a list of steps to follow. We don’t tell them how it should work.
That’s their part.
One kid might draw an elaborate machine powered by robots.
Another might start taping cardboard boxes together.
Someone else might decide the machine should sort candy, launch candy across the room or somehow produce an unlimited supply of gummy worms.
Give ten kids the same Innovation Challenge and you might end up with ten completely different ideas.
That’s the point.
Kids get to make choices.
Try ideas.
Run into problems.
Change their minds.
Try again.
And discover what happens.
Why Give Kids Open-Ended Challenges?
Kids spend a lot of time following directions.
Answer this question.
Put this here.
Follow these steps.
Make it look like this.
There is absolutely a time for learning how to follow directions.
But kids also need opportunities to decide what they think and what they want to try.
Innovation Challenges leave some of the interesting thinking for them.
They might have to ask themselves:
- What could I make?
- How could I solve this?
- What materials could I use?
- What happens if my first idea doesn’t work?
- What could I change and try next?
They’re still making something, but the making isn’t the whole activity. The thinking is.
How to Use the October Innovation Challenge Board
The October Innovation Challenge Board includes five seasonal themes:
Candy
Spiders & Bats
Halloween
Pumpkins
Full Moon
Each theme can be explored in different ways.
Kids can design.
They can create and make.
They can build.
They can draw or write.
Or they can head straight to the YOU column and come up with an idea of their own.
There is no beginning.
There is no order.
And your child definitely doesn’t need to complete every square.
Print the board, put it somewhere they can see it and let them choose what catches their attention.
Maybe they’ll design a candy machine.
Build a catapult that launches candy.
Make a Halloween paper airplane that flies.
Build a ramp for pumpkin rolling.
Or a prompt might send them in a completely different direction:
What would happen if candy grew on trees?
Where would you fly if you were a bat?
What happens after a jack-o’-lantern comes to life?
There is room for engineering, art, storytelling, experimenting, problem solving and plenty of wonderfully strange kid ideas.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE OCTOBER CHALLENGE BOARD
And Then There’s “YOU”
My favorite part of the Challenge Board is the last column:
YOU.
Instead of giving kids a specific challenge, it gives them a theme and asks:
What can YOU design, create or make?
At some point, we want kids to realize they don’t always need an adult, activity book or screen to supply the idea.
They can have ideas of their own.
The other challenges give them somewhere to begin.
The YOU column gives them a chance to take over.
Let Your Kid Choose
This isn’t a checklist.
You don’t need to work from left to right or complete one challenge every day in October.
Let your child look over the board and choose something that makes them think:
“I want to try that.”
Maybe it’s the candy catapult.
Maybe it’s a magic potion.
Maybe they want to build something that glows.
Maybe one challenge sparks an idea that has almost nothing to do with the original prompt.
Let it.
The Challenge Board is there to give kids somewhere to start, not tell them where they have to end up.
Then Step Back a Little
Once your child chooses a challenge, you don’t have to turn it into a lesson.
You don’t even have to know how they’re going to do it.
Give them access to some useful materials and see what happens.
If they ask:
“What should I make?”
you don’t necessarily have to supply the answer.
Try:
“What do you think?”
Or:
“What could you try?”
You can absolutely help when they need it, especially when safety or learning how to use a new tool is involved.
But you don’t have to plan the whole experience.
Let them do some of the interesting thinking.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE OCTOBER CHALLENGE BOARD
What Materials Do You Need?
You don’t need a special kit for Innovation Challenges.
Start with materials you already have around the house or classroom.
Paper, cardboard, tape, markers, paint, string, building materials, recyclables and other odds and ends can become surprisingly useful when a kid has an idea.
And you don’t need to anticipate everything they’ll need.
Figuring that out can be part of the challenge.
Ask:
What could you use?
What could work instead?
What else do you need to make your idea work?
Sometimes having fewer materials leads to more interesting ideas.
What Should I Do When My Kid Gets Stuck?
This might be the hardest part for the grown-ups.
Try not to solve it immediately.
I know.
When a child gets stuck, it’s incredibly tempting to swoop in:
“You could put this here.”
“Why don’t you use this?”
“Here, let me show you.”
Sometimes kids genuinely need help.
But getting stuck is also part of creating something of your own.
Before giving them the solution, try giving them another question:
What have you tried?
What part isn’t working yet?
What else could you use?
What could you change?
What do you think would happen if you tried it another way?
Then give them a little room.
Their solution might not be the solution you would choose.
That’s okay.
It’s their project.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE OCTOBER CHALLENGE BOARD
What If Their Idea Doesn’t Work?
Even better.
Well…your kid may not agree with that at first.
But an idea that doesn’t work gives them something to think about.
What happened?
Why didn’t it work the way they expected?
What could they change?
What will they try next?
A crooked structure, a catapult that barely launches or a creation that looks absolutely nothing like the original plan isn’t necessarily a failed Innovation Challenge.
It’s information.
Notice what happened.
Make a change.
Try again.
That’s where a lot of the interesting thinking happens.
The Goal Isn’t a Perfect Project
Your child’s finished creation might look nothing like what you imagined when you first read the challenge.
Good.
The goal isn’t to end October with a collection of Pinterest-worthy projects.
It’s to give kids opportunities to experience:
I have an idea.
I can try it.
I can figure out what to do when it doesn’t work.
I can change it.
I can make something that came from me.
That’s what we’re after.
Enough structure to get started. Enough space for kids to think.
Get the Free October Innovation Challenge Board
Ready to try it?
Grab the free printable October Innovation Challenge Board, hand it to your kid and ask:
“Which one do you want to try?”
That’s it.
They don’t need to start at the beginning.
They don’t need to complete every square.
Just let them choose something that makes them think:
“I want to try that.”
Then see where they take it.
Leave a Reply