Problem Solving

Winner of the Counselor's Choice Award! Brothers Braden and Blake are the central characters in the Executive FUNction picture book series. One is quick to turn the smallest setbacks into the biggest life-shattering disasters while the other is...

Winner of the Counselor's Choice Award! This teacher and counselor activity guide is designed to accompany the I Lost My BFF chapter book, which focuses on the evolution of friendships that happen over time, particularly with girls. This guide includes...

Winner of the Mom's Choice Award and Counselor's Choice Award! Sophia and Camila have been the best of friends for a long time now - since first grade! They do EVERYTHING together. They like the same things, and they always have fun! So imagine Sophia's...

Winner of the 2021 Counselor's Choice Award! Braden's schoolwork seems to be getting tougher each year. It's getting so tough that Braden fears it will soon become impossible to get everything done! What happened to the good old days when school...

Winner of the 2021 Counselor's Choice Award! It seems that the older Blake gets, the more he is expected to do!  Blake's baseball team is having a bake sale fundraiser, and he just can't wait for his mom to whip up a batch of her famous chocolate...

Winner of the 2021 Counselor's Choice Award! Flexible thinking allows people to think about things in new ways or to incorporate new information into a specific plan or idea. Flexible thinkers are often able to come up with more than one solution to a...

Winner of the 2021 Counselor's Choice Award! Self-control is the ability to regulate one's emotions, thoughts, and behavior and to keep one's cool in the face of disappointment. But when children don't get what they want or expect, they often get upset...

Amelia has never been one to be timid. She's confident enough to stand up for others and let people know what she thinks. So why is she having a hard time advocating for herself? When a new seating arrangement lands Amelia next to Billy, who spends all...

Winner of the 2021 Counselor's Choice Award! When you're a child, it's not easy controlling your impulse reactions - kids do things before they think all the time. Strengthen executive function skills and empower impetuous young people with a humorous...

Winner of the 2021 Counselor's Choice Award! Problem solving involves many other executive functioning behaviors, including reasoning, attention, planning, initiation, working memory, and self-monitoring. The one thing all of us have in common is that we...

Isaac is a second-grader who hates having to decide between options that are not fun, totally boring, or too hard. If he wants to ride his bike to a buddy's house, Isaac has to wear his helmet even though it's so hot he thinks his head will melt. Or, he...

Winner of the Counselor's Choice Award (Freddie the Fly Series)Winner of the Moonbeam Children's Book Award (Freddie the Fly Series) Freddie is excited for everyone to meet his new friend, Betsy the Beetle. Unfortunately, Betsy has a constant companion...

Winner of the Counselor's Choice Award (Freddie the Fly Series)Winner of the Moonbeam Children's Book Award (Freddie the Fly Series) Freddie the Fly's friend Stella the Stinkbug has a problem. Or lots of problems. Some problems are BIG and some...

Amelia is her name and conquering new challenges is her game! She's an up-for-any-adventure second-grader who's eager to try new things, provided nothing can go wrong. She takes up skateboarding with gusto and feverishly builds a swing set for her kid...

Working memory is an important executive function because it helps children (and adults!) recall information required to complete tasks or functions, such as notetaking, spelling, or the order of operations in math. Some children seem to excel in this...

Planning is the ability to create a roadmap to reach a goal or achieve a task, while prioritizing involves the ability to make decisions about what is important for you to focus on next. It can be challenging for children to know where to get started on...