0–9 months – See this age across all domains Infants

What educators might observe

• Reaches for an object that has rolled far away
• Uses a trusted caregiver as a tool to solve a physical problem (e.g., child watches the educator wind up a music box and, when the music stops, touches their hand to get them to make it start again)
• Shakes and bangs ma terials to make a sound happen repeatedly

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Observe and respond to the child’s reflexive motions and movements with words and actions; for example, if the baby accidentally spits out their pacifier, the educator may say, “Where’s your pacifier? Here it is. I’m putting it back in your mouth.”
• Notice when the child is trying to use your body as a tool, and play along with them; for example, say, “You are moving my hand toward the mobile. I will make it turn again for you.”

8–16 months – See this age across all domains Infants

What educators might observe

• Uses objects as a means to an end (e.g., uses a bucket to transport blocks from one room to another)
• Crawls around a chair to get an object that has rolled behind it
• Keeps turning a container around to find the side with the lid or opening
• Attempts to unscrew lids to get objects out of them
• Undoes materials such as fasteners on shoes or tape on surfaces

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Create an environment with loose parts that the baby may freely explore
  • Water cooler jugs and balls that children can drop through the top
  • Containers with lids that children can attempt to pry off
  • Buckets, baskets, bags, and purses for carrying materials around
  • Boxes, blocks, and safe bean bags

15–24 months – See this age across all domains Toddlers

What educators might observe

• Uses adult as a resource to solve problems with materials (e.g., child hands a toy car to an educator after it stops moving, and the child cannot figure out how to make it move again)
• Uses trial and error to solve problems with materials (e.g., tries different orientations of a three-piece knob puzzle before fitting the pieces in place)
• Imitates a problem-solving method they have previously observed an adult use (e.g., going to the door and turning the knob to try to open it)
• Uses an object to reach another object (e.g., uses the handle of a broom to get an object stuck under the couch)

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Include “busy boxes” in the learning environment so children can practice manipulating a variety of latches, laces, hooks, hinges, and locks
• Allow child to solve simple self-help challenges such as maneuvering a cup off an out-of-reach shelf
• Provide various materials that encourage problem-solving skills, such as ramps, tunnels, stools, big blocks, and train or car tracks

24–36 months – See this age across all domains Toddlers

What educators might observe

• Intentionally selects objects to use as tools in play (e.g., chooses a thick stick over a thin one to use as a “spoon” to stir mud in make-believe soup)
• Puts a circular piece into a puzzle without having to try the other areas
• Verbally and physically asks for help from an adult or peer by saying “Help,” grabbing their hand, and leading them over to the problem

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Allow child time to figure out problem for themselves, instead of intervening immediately; for example, build time into the schedule for child to try and get their shoes on before going outside
• Encourage child to try doing a task, or suggest ways that they may be successful, such as getting a stool to reach the sink
• Ask if the child needs help and acknowledge and respect the response

3-year-olds – See this age across all domains Preschool

What educators might observe

• Adjusts plans based on prior experience (e.g., when rolling cars down a ramp, tries a smaller car when bigger ones keep falling off)
• Imitates accepted solutions to problems with materials (e.g., moves hands on laces as if to tie shoes, although they are unable to successfully do so)

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Have everyday materials accessible for building and creating
  • Pipe cleaners
  • Paper towel rolls
  • Different kinds of tape
  • Shoe boxes
  • Paper bags
  • Wheels from broken toy trucks
  • Clay
  • Recyclables
  • String
  • Glue
• Experiment with the effect of natural forces on materials. For example, create a wind tunnel by blowing through a tube or float scarves, pompoms, and other objects through the tube

4-year-olds – See this age across all domains Preschool

What educators might observe

• Uses blocks or boxes to build bridges
• When using materials, compares results to initial predictions and tries again (e.g., after discovering that the slime breaks if stretched quickly, stretches it more slowly)

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Support children in thinking of themselves as engineers by asking questions such as
  • “How can you use these materials to make..?”
  • “What do you think would happen if…?”
  • “Why do you think that happened?”
• Help children see that mistakes teach us important things

5-year-olds – See this age across all domains Preschool

What educators might observe

• Uses blocks to build stairs
• Sticks with a problem-solving strategy that has been successful before, without considering other alternatives
• Plans how to make a functional object from materials (e.g., a spinning top from Lego pieces)
• Replicates engineering solutions from life in play (e.g., creating a door with a latch for a cardboard house)

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Use fairytales to encourage building; for instance, read The Three Little Pigs , and ask groups of children to create houses that would withstand a wolf’s huffing and puffing
• Challenge children with prompts such as
  • Make something with a window in it
  • Make something that floats
• Ask the child about work they have done
  • “Tell me about your construction.”
  • “How do these parts work?”
  • “What is their function?”
  • “What’s another strategy that you could use?”

6-year-olds – See this age across all domains Early elementary

What educators might observe

• Investigates the motion and movement of objects when solving problems with materials (e.g., notices and compares how different balls bounce higher than others)
• Identifies and describes tools made for different purposes
• Uses sophisticated strategies to make their block buildings more stable

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Include tools in the learning environment that children can access for a variety of purposes
  • scissors
  • staplers
  • hole punches
  • hammers
  • measuring tapes
  • hand drills
• Invite children to systematically test the stability of their block buildings by rolling balls at them
• Offer encouragement and guidance (“These problems can be solved! You can figure this out. What if you…?”)

7-year-olds – See this age across all domains Early elementary

What educators might observe

• Uses a second problem-solving strategy if the first one is unsuccessful
• Pays attention to the relevant part of solving a problem (e.g., examines the attachment of the axles and wheels when the toy car won’t roll)
• Uses logic and reasoning to solve problems with materials (e.g., uses their knowledge of how the physical properties of objects affect their behavior and motion)

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Observe and reflect on children’s processes as they solve problems with materials
• Consider which children are most engaged in engineering: Are girls as engaged as boys? Why or why not?
• Invite children to make complex marble runs, taking into account both the angle and length of the ramps
• Offer objects in the environment as models for children’s problem-solving; for example, show them a hinge on a door, or point out how bricks are stacked in a building

8-year-olds – See this age across all domains Early elementary

What educators might observe

• Takes more than one variable into account when solving problems with materials (e.g., considers both weight and distance when setting up a balance)
• Plans their actions when encountering a difficult problem with materials
• Systematically builds things and reverses their actions to take things apart
• Identifies tools and simple machines made to solve problems by people long ago or in a different place, and compares those tools and machines to the ones we use today

Ways educators might support the child's development

• Invite families to visit the classroom and share a tool from their culture, nation of origin, or childhood
• Provide opportunities for children to learn problem-solving strategies from one another
• Challenge children to invent objects to solve common classroom or household problems (e.g., a magnetic paper-clip picker-upper)
• Look for texts that show different ways a problem has been solved throughout history (e.g., irrigation)