Children are makers · 15 years of Reggio-inspired projects

Reggio projects

Contribution: Creating the conditions, sharing expertise and co-facilitating
Status: Educational practice

A micro:bit, tubing and planted glass bowl beside a transparent panel of leaf drawings — 01Drawing, plants and electronics in one outdoor investigationChildren’s project work; educational facilitation/documentation by Trevor Cardozo, ELC.

Children are makers. Given time, trust and access to expertise, they can design, make and publish work at the intersection of creativity and functionality. For 15 years, I have explored that belief through Reggio-inspired projects with children in Bangkok: drawings become working circuits and moving machines; a Year 6 AI sprint becomes a student newspaper website. My role is to create the conditions, share tools and expertise, and document the process while keeping children’s ideas and authorship at the centre.

A closer look

11 views · From the project

A micro:bit connected to motors, a battery and wiring on a project table — 02A micro:bit, motors and a question to investigateChildren’s project work; educational facilitation/documentation by Trevor Cardozo, ELC.

A projected pattern falls across a constructed model — 03Light, shadow and a constructed worldChildren’s project work; educational facilitation/documentation by Trevor Cardozo, ELC.

An atelier table holding sketches, electronics and making materials — 04The project table, mid-investigationChildren’s project work; educational facilitation/documentation by Trevor Cardozo, ELC.

Terrariums sit alongside electronics and project documentation — 05Living systems meet digital materialsChildren’s project work; educational facilitation/documentation by Trevor Cardozo, ELC.

Deconstructed electronic components and circuit drawings on display — 06Taking things apart to see how they workChildren’s project work; educational facilitation/documentation by Trevor Cardozo, ELC.

A terrarium linked to an Arduino, humidity sensor and display — 07A living system, made measurableChildren’s project work; educational facilitation/documentation by Trevor Cardozo, ELC.

A LEGO robot with sensors in front of a drawn design — 08From a drawn idea to a moving machineChildren’s project work; educational facilitation/documentation by Trevor Cardozo, ELC.

An exposed electronic circuit connected to a long illuminated LED strip — 09An investigation in light and electronicsChildren’s project work; educational facilitation/documentation by Trevor Cardozo, ELC.

Arduino, breadboard and sensor alongside a circuit explanation — 10Connecting diagrams with something you can testChildren’s project work; educational facilitation/documentation by Trevor Cardozo, ELC.

Child-drawn diagram connecting a wire, temperature sensor and Arduino — 11Making sense of a circuit · child-authored drawingLearning and making by children; facilitation/documentation by Trevor Cardozo, ELC.

Handwritten design critique of a student newspaper website — 12Year 6 AI sprint · children critique their designChildren’s design work; co-facilitated by Trevor, Goldie and Anat, ELC.