What happens when what is learned in school meets the world beyond the classroom? At the intersection of questions, experiences, and discoveries, knowledge takes on form, meaning, and life. It is within this context that a study emerged with the mixed-age Year 4 and Year 5 class at be.Living, intertwining Social Sciences and Natural Sciences in an investigative journey that is already leading to a concrete outcome: an educational visit to the São Paulo Municipal Market, requested by the children themselves.
The project began by looking inward: the human body. In Natural Sciences, the students began an investigation into food experiences within the school environment, a topic that is familiar, meaningful, and part of their daily lives. “We reflected a little on the food they eat here at school. Based on their own experiences, they thought about what healthy eating means and what makes a good meal, considering everything from nutrition to flavor,” explains teacher Letícia Araújo. From these reflections, the children explored nutrients and began investigating the journey food takes through the human body, using different forms of expression and materials to build ideas and understand processes. Among the learning resources used were an anatomical model, memory games, and educational apps. These were powerful moments, marked by exchanges among the children, during which they were able to develop ideas, confront different points of view, and reconnect with the knowledge they already brought with them, expanding their previous understanding. The sequence of activities culminated in the creation of signature dishes by the students, which will now become part of the school’s menu.
This study speaks directly to the way food is understood at be.Living: not only as nutrition, but also as experience, culture, and connection. Mealtime becomes a space for learning, where senses, memories, and choices intertwine, expanding the children’s awareness of what they consume and how it impacts their bodies and their lives.
At the same time that they were looking inward, toward their own bodies, in Social Sciences their attention turned outward: the city. Using the book “São Paulo, a minha cidade” by Chilean artist Andrés Sandoval, who is based in São Paulo, the children began mapping their own relationships with the city. More than an informational book, the work presents the city’s most significant particularities through Andrés’ perspective, revealing how he observes the movement of the metropolis through perceptive and often subtle details. Structured as a map featuring illustrated cultural landmarks and territories described in an intimate way, the book reveals the diversity, passion, and nuances that bring life to each element that makes up the author’s São Paulo. “During the reading process, the children shared what they already knew about the city. Then, they drew maps based on their own experiences,” explains teacher Laura Marin. From these representations, the study evolved into an exploration of heritage and memory, shifting the focus toward both tangible and intangible assets that represent the history and identity of a people. The teacher explains that this knowledge was gradually connected to the children’s lived experiences, from the path they take from home to school to the places they have visited or observed while moving through the city. And it was through the activity “My Place in São Paulo”, which included family participation, that this concept became even more meaningful. The children took home the proposal of investigating where they and their families move throughout the city and identifying each family member’s favorite place, broadening their understanding of the relationships they build with the spaces they inhabit.
The family of Year 5 student Gabriela Maia identified the São Paulo Municipal Market as a meaningful part of their personal history. Her grandfather owned a restaurant and regularly visited the Market to buy ingredients, developing a close relationship with the space. Over time, this experience became a cherished family memory, shared and preserved across generations. Based on this story and the class’s interest in learning more about its history, the student’s father was invited to speak with the children. The conversation sparked even greater curiosity among the group, and motivated by what they were investigating, the children themselves requested an educational visit to the Municipal Market.
The São Paulo Municipal Market is one of the city’s main historical and cultural landmarks. Known for its architecture and stained-glass windows depicting scenes of daily life and agricultural production, the space is recognized as a protected heritage site by both state and municipal preservation agencies. Beyond its physical structure, the Market carries a strong cultural dimension connected to food traditions, human encounters, and the stories built within it. And it is at this point that the two learning journeys converge.
“It is the idea of food also as pleasure and heritage. What began as an investigation into the human body now opens a dialogue with the ways the city is lived, with the places where food circulates, and with the stories that travel through it. “The study expands and becomes more complex, more connected, more real,” explains teacher Letícia.
The educational visit to the Municipal Market emerges, then, as a natural extension of this process. More than a outing, it becomes an experience of learning through the city itself, a moment in which the children can experience, observe, and reinterpret what they have been building in school. “At be.Living, educational field trips are understood as an essential part of the learning process. They are opportunities for investigation, deeper understanding, and synthesis, where knowledge extends beyond the school walls and learning becomes even more meaningful.”
Through this deeply meaningful work, the Year 4 and Year 5 students are not only acquiring knowledge about the body or the city, but also experiencing a way of being in the world that is curious, investigative, connected, and sensitive to the relationships that shape us.