Our 1st Graders’ Houses & Homes Assembly, a 25-year-old D-E Lower School (LS) tradition, took place earlier this week in the LS gym! For this annual labor of love, students work together to build a home that represents their assigned continent—Australia, South America, North America, Asia, Europe, or Africa—and then present them, along with fun facts, to an audience of their peers and parents. This project helps students understand why homes are built differently in various regions of the world and teaches them about architecture and planning, explains LS 1st Grade teacher Catherine Madison Farrar. “All research was done by the students,” she adds. To bring awareness to differences in ability, this year’s assembly featured a home that could accommodate a child who uses a wheelchair. In addition, kindergartners and second graders were invited, respectively, to look forward to and reflect on their own houses & homes experiences. “Through this activity, students learn the four C’s—communication, cooperation, collaboration, and compromise,” says Ms. Farrar, which prepares them to be lifelong learners.
