For three days, 350 students at South Perth Primary School worked alongside Educated by Nature facilitators Isaac, Katie, Fe and Elissa to design and construct something real. Using timber, drills, sanders and an assortment of building materials, the students created cubby houses, platforms, shops, houses and structures that were sometimes difficult to name. Some had walls, some had windows and others gained verandahs as the work unfolded, yet no two creations were the same.
This variety became particularly visible when the groups gathered to reflect at the end of each session. Although the students had begun with the same kinds of materials, they had interpreted, combined and adapted them in entirely different ways. Their constructions carried the ideas of the people who had made them, along with the many decisions, negotiations and changes that had occurred during the building process.
Learning through real materials and real decisions
Re:Build is a collaborative, hands-on school incursion in which children work with real tools and open-ended building materials. Rather than following instructions towards a predetermined result, students are invited to imagine what they might create together and discover what becomes possible as they begin.
Working at this scale gives children genuine decisions to make. A piece of timber may not be the length they hoped for, a structure may wobble, or the available materials may require a group to reconsider its original design. Students can test an idea, observe what happens and decide whether to strengthen, change or begin part of it again. Along the way, they encounter forces, structures and simple machines through direct experience, making Re:Build a rich opportunity to connect learning across Science and Design and Technologies.
One teacher particularly valued seeing students adapt when the materials did not perfectly fit their plans, describing it as “an amazing way for them to explore the DT process and production skills”. The imperfect materials were not an obstacle to the learning; they became part of it. Students needed to pay attention to what was actually available and respond with creativity, flexibility and practical problem-solving.
Real tools and high expectations
The opportunity to use real tools is an important part of Re:Build. With clear safety guidance and close support from the Educated by Nature team, students learn to use drills, sanders and building materials with care and growing confidence. The purpose is not simply to give children an exciting experience with tools, but to create the conditions in which they can develop judgement, capability and responsibility through meaningful use.
Teachers noticed the value of holding these higher expectations. One reflected that the children “were able to use real tools and achieved a fabulous result given their age”, while another appreciated that students had made something “real” beyond what they may have expected of themselves. The careful organisation of materials, clear safety procedures and movement of facilitators between groups helped students participate with both freedom and support.
The humour and warmth of the facilitation also mattered. Teachers described Isaac and Fe’s introduction as funny and engaging, and spoke warmly about the way the whole team encouraged creativity while supporting groups and individual children. This balance allowed the experience to remain playful and energetic without losing the thoughtful attention needed when many children are working together with tools and large materials.
Many ways to participate
Large-scale collaborative building creates many possible ways for a child to become involved. One student may be absorbed in using a sander, while another imagines the overall structure. Someone may hold a piece of timber in place, negotiate a shared decision, solve a practical problem or notice that part of the construction needs to change. Because there is no single correct outcome, students can contribute through different interests, strengths and ways of thinking.
This was reflected strongly in the feedback from South Perth Primary School. One teacher, drawing on more than 30 years of teaching, described Re:Build as “one of the best incursions we have had” and observed that every child was engaged throughout the session because “there was something for everyone”. Another valued the freedom students had “to build, collaborate and explore”, particularly as the experience allowed them to work alongside one another towards something they could see and enter.
During one group reflection, a student proudly gave a detailed explanation of the cubby house his team had created. Afterwards, his teacher shared that it was the longest sentence she had heard him speak all year. We cannot know everything that contributed to that moment, but we could see a child with something meaningful to describe: a place he had helped imagine, negotiate and build, and a group gathered to listen.
Making time to reflect
Reflection is woven into each Re:Build session. Once the tools are set down, students are invited to consider what worked, what changed and what did not go according to plan. This gives them an opportunity to recognise not only what they constructed, but how they collaborated, adapted and responded to difficulty along the way.
A teacher told us they particularly valued hearing students reflect on “what went well and what didn’t go to plan and how they were able to adapt to those problems”. This process helps make visible the learning that might otherwise remain hidden within the activity. The finished cubby, platform or shop is only one part of the experience; the decisions, conversations, experiments and revisions involved in creating it are equally significant.
For educators, Re:Build offers an opportunity to observe what can emerge when children are trusted with meaningful materials, real tools and enough freedom to develop their own ideas. It brings curriculum concepts into children’s hands while making room for creativity, collaboration, adaptability and the deep satisfaction of building something together.
If you are curious about what Re:Build could make possible for the students at your school
Learn more or enquire about bringing a Re:Build Incursion to your school