Talk About It

What Would You Build?

Find a real problem in your own house and decide what you would do about it. Ends with a decision, not an idea.

Ages
5 to 11
Time
10 minutes
You Need
Nothing, although paper helps if they get going.

What to do

  1. Walk around and find one thing that does not work properly. A real one, in this house.
  2. Ask why they think nobody has fixed it yet.
  3. Ask what they would try first.
  4. Then ask the important one: what would you try second, when the first thing does not work?

Ask afterward

  • Who else has this same problem?
  • Would they pay to have it fixed, or just complain about it?
  • Does an entrepreneur have to be a grown-up?
  • What is the difference between noticing and deciding?

For the grown-up

The fourth step is the one that matters. Planning for the first attempt failing is the actual habit being taught here, and it is the thing that separates this from a brainstorming exercise.

Read this first

What Is an Entrepreneur?

The activity works on its own, and it works considerably better after the explanation it belongs with.

Read the explanation