An example.
When my kid was in his second year of primary school (that’s for 7-8 y.o. here in Ukraine), they played a game: kids were running in circles around chairs, and when they heard a whistle they had to sit down. But they were one chair short, and each time one kid and one chair were sent away. After three rounds my son started to get the general idea, and when they started running he went to the pile of discarded chairs and got himself one because whatever. (They disqualified him, and I stood there grinning like an idiot because heck yeah.)
But I also thought about how I would explain to him the game as a game, quite separate from everything else.
An example. When my kid was in his second year of primary school (that’s for 7-8 y.o. here in Ukraine), they played a game: kids were running in circles around chairs, and when they heard a whistle they had to sit down. But they were one chair short, and each time one kid and one chair were sent away. After three rounds my son started to get the general idea, and when they started running he went to the pile of discarded chairs and got himself one because whatever. (They disqualified him, and I stood there grinning like an idiot because heck yeah.)
But I also thought about how I would explain to him the game as a game, quite separate from everything else.
Seems like thinking outside the box is only allowed at school when you are explicitly told to. :D
...but not always, unfortunately.