The Creative Problem Solvers series is part of The Tales from the Porch: Expanding Perspectives Project, created and designed by Aitina Fareed-Cooke in order to expand perspectives and build empathy through hands-on digital storytelling and literary arts engagements. This series looks to empower 3rd–5th graders to use the creative arts to tackle real-world problems while developing essential skills for school and life.

Registration is open for two opportunities this fall, with the option to attend one or both sessions. The program is proudly funded and supported by Buffalo’s Poet Laureate Aitina Fareed-Cooke, Get Fokus’d Productions, Youth Time Foundation DAF, and Arts Services Inc.

The Creative Problem Solvers Series: Love is Light

“Light is Love” blends hands-on science with heart-centered conversation: students build simple circuits that make a bulb glow, then connect that idea to how love can “light up” dark spaces through empathy and being a good neighbor.

As they test conductors and insulators, students explore a powerful metaphor: what helps “light” travel (kindness, connection) and what can block it (hurtful choices, exclusion) and how we can choose to reconnect.

What we will do:

• Build a closed circuit with a battery, wires, and a light bulb, then test everyday materials to see which ones allow the “light” to turn on (conductors) and which stop it (insulators).

• Use our new knowledge to design and engineer a working mini door alarm showing how small changes in connections can make something work (and how teamwork and care help us keep trying).

Tools we will use:

• C batteries, light bulbs, and wires/clips to create open and closed circuits (and a simple “switch” action as we connect/disconnect).

• Mini wooden door frames, painter’s tape, and assorted conductor/insulator materials for testing and building the alarm challenge.

Why it helps:

• Science learning: students see that a bulb only lights when there’s a complete loop, strengthening understanding of circuits, current, conductors, and insulators.

• Social-emotional growth: students practice empathy by discussing how “being a good neighbor” can restore connection like closing a circuit so light can shine.

Special ‘fokus’: Foundation for life

• Metaphor connections: conductors = actions that help love move (kind words, helping, including others); insulators = actions that block love (unkindness, ignoring, excluding).

• Choice and responsibility: students notice how one small “break” can stop the light then practice how to repair it in circuits and in relationships (apologize, invite in, try again).

Take-home support:

• A quick family reflection prompt: “What are some ways we can be good neighbors this week at home, at school, or in our community?”

• A simple “Light is Love” challenge: choose one “conductor” action each day (help, share, encourage) and talk about how it helped someone else feel seen and supported.

This series is funded and supported by: Aitina Fareed-Cooke/The Creative Arts Strategist, Get Fokus’d Productions, Youth Time Foundation DAF, & Arts Services Inc.