thinkshops for schools

Thinkshops are open-ended, inquiry-based learning opportunities for students that are custom designed to meet specific needs and objectives. Scroll through the galleries below to discover the incredibly creative Thinkshops we've built for students of all ages, skill levels, cultures, and more. Click here to book one for your school – or unschool – today.

Elkhorn Drive Public School
Reflections of Canada Thinkshop
ESL Classroom  |  Grades 2 – 5

This was the first time we popped up in a portable! Which just goes to show you can set the stage for seriously creative learning just about anywhere. This Thinkshop was incredibly rewarding for us because the universal quality of the materials gave the students tools for overcoming language barriers. Some students used the loose parts to build letters, words, and math equations. Others took the opportunity to express cultural differences between their homeland and their adopted land. In one instance, two students from different parts of the world worked across from each other, recreating their recent arrivals to Canada – one in winter, one in summer. When they were done, they made the simultaneous and profound discovery that now they shared the same sky!  See if you can spot their story in this image gallery.

City Shul Toronto
Written in Stone Thinkshop
Family Learning Day  |  all ages

A Thinkshop designed to take families on a journey from learning to celebration. The experience included journey sticks, building a Lag BaOmer bonfire, "receiving" the Torah, carrying it as a community, and sharing knowledge to help infuse the Ten Commandments into their lives in a whole new way. Each family created a commandment of their own – to guide and remind them of the connections they made to the learning and each other on Family Learning Day.

Neshamah of York Region
Gifts for the World + The Amazing Taste
Supplementary School  |  Grades K – 7

This thinkshop was a real treat for us to plan as it allowed us to take an annual celebration – the Jewish harvest festival – and look at its deeper meaning. We explored the holiday in two unique ways: First, we created an interactive, non-competitive tour of the 7 species grown in Israel. And it was gratifying to see a program we developed come to life in the hands of other passionate educators.

Second, we custom-designed a thinkshop that explored connections between the birthday of the trees and our own lives. In one part of the room, students gathered to bring a community garden to life. In the other, students internalizing the giving-connection – offering up their unique talents as gifts to the world. Students created everything from a feast for nature, to a garden inhabited by people posing in the shape of trees. Even more intriguing was the fact that most students chose to work in groups – collaborating on their gifts and building a powerful community of givers! 

Centre for Imagination and Creativity
Reinvention Thinkshop
Renovated Library Space   |  Grades K – 6

The Centre for Imagination and Creativity – housed within a renovated library space at St. Kateri Tekakwitha, TCDSB – is a typical school library space undergoing a fascinating transformation into a dynamic space for 21st century learning! Building off the re-thinking of the space itself, we created a two-day thinkshop that focused on the concepts of reinvention and innovation. We set up two loose parts picnics – one filled with raw materials found in nature, the other with a colourful array of man-made materials. We invited the children to create and innovate by combining elements from both worlds. This provocation led to underwater power sources, moveable environments, even hybrid creatures. It's always a powerful experience to witness very young children transform deeply complex thoughts into concrete representations. We came away from this experience feeling more connected to the intelligence of nature and the power of humans to make choices that will positively impact our world. 

Fleming College
Full Circle  Thinkshop
George St. United Church  |  ECE candidates

We custom-designed this Thinkshop for 50+ ECE candidates in their third semester of the Fleming College program. As this is already an inspired, forward-thinking program of study, we wanted to look at the transition from student to educator and help the students recognize themselves as learners even after they officially become educators. We explored the concept of coming "Full Circle" and the process of transforming loose parts and inquiry learning from theory into practice. We were joined by Fleming College faculty and community educators who added a rich layer of wisdom to the learning that transpired.

Thornhill Woods PS
Boutique Night
Families and children of all ages

Booked ourselves a table at this annual event as an opportunity to showcase creative thinking and materials-based learning. The goal was to demonstrate how to engage students of all ages more deeply by inviting inquiry-based learning into our homes and classrooms. Painting with sand, stacking with shells and tree cookies – these things allow children to openly express their creativity through storytelling and representation. The rich discovery that occurs when children interact with loose-parts and vivid sensory materials enhances language development and fine-motor skills. 

Neshamah of York Region 
Independence Thinkshop
Supplementary School  |  Grades K - 7

At this custom-designed Thinkshop we invited 100+ multi-age students to strengthen their cultural identity and build community connections for Yom Ha'Atzmaut. Combining previous knowledge, wordless provocations, and open dialogue, students worked in close proximity to build a life-size map of Israel using materials from a Loose Parts Picnic inspired by the sights and sounds of this middle eastern country. Students later re-represented their creations through drawings on a large-scale fabric map that can be updated through the years as their knowledge on the topic expands.
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