Homes on parade at Sage Canyon
Savannah Petrosevich built her home with a roof made from egg cartons. Designed for the temperate forest, the home’s pitched roof allows rain and snow to easily roll off.
Sage Canyon Elementary kindergartner Dylan Early shows off his dream house built of materials from the recycling bin, featuring a swimming pool and diving board, a fireplace, and a storage shed.
Article and photos by Lisa Crockett
A cardboard diving board, an egg carton roof, and a cracker-box bedroom were the building blocks of dream houses for students at Sage Canyon Elementary’s “Parade of Homes.” The annual event gives kindergartners a chance to showcase their knowledge of different biomes, or living environments, while also exercising their creativity. Using materials from the recycling bin, kids got into groups, built models of the homes they would love to live in, and then showed them off for parents and fellow students.
“This was a quarter-long project that incorporated geography, science and writing,” said kindergarten teacher Sarah Komosa. “We talk about the things all homes have to have, like walls, a roof, a floor, a door, and a window. From there the kids can start adding the things they want like a mail box or a swimming pool.”
Students based home designs on specific biome climates. In the temperate forest, for instance, roofs are slanted to allow rain and snow to roll off, while desert homes often have flat roofs.
“This is a tradition here at the school,” said Komosa. “The unit is called ‘Home Sweet Home,’ and it’s fun to see what the kids come up with.”
