Problem Solving - What to Wear?

For this problem solving activity children were given 1 paper doll, 2 colours of shirts, 2 colours of pants, and 2 types of shoes.  I cut these out with a die cut machine available at local scrapbooking stores.

The challenge was then issued: figure out how many different outfits your doll could wear.  They could use any system to figure it out, and could discuss it with a partner.  Here are the results

	April was the first to figure out the answer.  She used a chart where she drew and coloured the possible outfits.
	Kaitlyn tried to figure out the solution 2 ways.  The first she connected the clothing that she drew using lines, she found this way too confusing to remember which outfits she had already created. She tried a different style of chart with drawing and colouring the outfits and was able to find the correct answer.
	Gemma used a similar chart, she accompanied her drawings with the colour word to keep her outfits clear.

There is a wonderful piece of software that challenges children's problem solving abilities and increases in difficulty as children get better.  It is designed for people from ages 8 & up, I was hooked and have spent many hours playing it's called "Zoombinis Logical Journey" to find out more about the zoombinis visit their website: www.zoombinis.com

Submitted by Connie and Kathy