What if you transformed a corner of your classroom into a ‘Found Objects Station,’ filled with everyday materials like bottle caps, cardboard, fabric scraps, yarn, buttons, and other recycled items?
What if that simple table of recycled materials became a hub for creativity and problem-solving?
This space could invite students to explore open-ended challenges, such as designing inventions, crafting sculptures, or solving real-world problems. This type of activity embraces the Reggio Emilia philosophy, where the "hundred languages" represent the diverse ways students express their ideas—through design, problem-solving, storytelling, and hands-on exploration. It’s an easy, flexible idea that any educator can implement while making students’ thinking and learning visible.
Join us for a fun and meaningful conversation where we’ll be exploring how learning spaces can act as a "third teacher," inspiring creativity, collaboration, and meaningful learning experiences.
Key Takeaways
For Teachers: Practical strategies to integrate hands-on, creative learning into subjects like math, science, language arts, and social studies, making lessons more engaging and impactful.
For School Leaders: Insights into fostering innovation, collaboration, and sustainability in learning environments, aligned with 21st-century education goals.
For Parents: Ways to nurture confidence, creativity, and curiosity through unstructured exploration with simple materials at home.
For Curriculum Designers: Tools to design project-based, open-ended learning experiences that build critical thinking and creativity at every grade level.
For Museum Educators: Creative ideas for interactive exhibits and workshops that spark collaboration and exploration using found materials.
For Education Specialists and Learning Designers: Deeper insights into designing environments and documenting processes that honor students’ unique ways of thinking and learning, fostering reflection and growth.
Guest Speaker: Sandra Rodrigues
Sandra is a specialist in the Reggio Emilia Approach and an experienced teacher trainer who has worked across Brazil, Kenya, the Netherlands, Hungary, Spain, Portugal, and Italy. Since 2016, she has been delivering courses on the Hundred Languages of Educators, sharing the outcomes of this work at UNIMORE (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia) since 2017. Her contributions to the field were recognized in the thesis Le Origini del Reggio Emilia Approach e la Sua Diffusione nel Mondo, defended at Scienze dell’Educazione per il Nido e le Professioni Socio-Pedagogiche at UNIMORE.
Currently based in the Netherlands, Sandra facilitates movement-based activities for conflict-affected children and teaches at a bilingual school. She has a deep understanding of progressive education, inquiry-based learning, and documentation as a pedagogical tool. With a wealth of international experience, she supports teachers and schools in creating learning environments that foster creativity, collaboration, and meaningful exploration. Her ability to bridge theory and practice makes her a highly sought-after trainer and facilitator.