At the Mansfield Children’s Center teachers use question asking as a primary means to engage children in problem solving.  Our goal is to give children the tools and tendencies to solve the problems they are faced with day-to-day as a way to support the development of independent thought and reason.  Our hands-on curricula support the growth of our children’s math and verbal skills as the use of these skills are embedded into the activity design.

Natural Science:

Through direct observation, prediction, and data collection, our natural science curriculum teaches children about the interdependence of species living on our campus.  Children learn to ask critical questions, research relevant information, draw conclusions, and share their findings with others.

Games:

Children learn various board and card games that challenge their analytical, spatial, linguistic, and mathematical skills.  Some of the games we play include: Backgammon, Bananagrams, Chess, Forbidden Island, Labyrinth, Othello, Rummikub, Rummy, Scattegories, Skipbo, and Ticket to Ride.

Engineering and Physical Science:

Building with manipulatives provides children with the opportunity to explore and further develop an understanding of basic physics.  We challenge children to use their ingenuity and the principles they master to complete increasingly complex structures to further their learning of the variables that make building possible.

Scavenger Hunts and Team Challenges:

Our Scavenger Hunts and Team Challenges require children to work in groups to solve riddles or problems while drawing on the individual capacities of the group members.  Challenges focus on the use of communication and problem solving skills.