What would your dream house look like?

We all have a dream house, but do you remember what your dream house was as a child?

I do. I wanted a pool to keep my pet dolphins in, and a barn for my horses.

I  wanted a ball-pit, and a waterslide for steps- so my parents let me pick the color of my room, a shiny, textured metallic blue wall. Good thing I didn’t pick pink, because the color looks great with my nephews’ Marvel superhero themed belongings. As for the water slide, my siblings and I would have “carpet rides” down the steps in our comforters.

Looking back on that today reminds me of how fortunate I was to have had my own space in my childhood house.  Not every child has a bedroom, or space of their own. Philadelphia has the highest poverty rate among the nation’s 10 most populated cities.

A seemingly simple project like this, such as making dream houses can bring up a lot of complicated emotions for some students.  Assumptions can never be made about a child’s life outside of camp and school. However, it is an opportunity to have everything desired in a play house. So with yellow envelopes cut out as houses, the students created their dream houses. The range varies as to what that looks like.

-Disco rooms. #nosleepingallowed

-house on fire

-house with flowers

-houses with their loved one’s in it

-houses with their pets

-house with winding, spiral staircase

-house with a bird as the chimney

-house with a big T.V. to play video games.

-house with a room for their best friend

-house with extended family…

What doesn’t vary as much, is how proud everyone was of their house. 

The student on the left here, drew every detail inside of the house-very intricate details, so he didn’t get to the outside of the house. He already knows- good things take time, right?

This student on the right wants purple brick for her house, instead of red brick.

It turned out to be a really great exercise. They had a ball, and they developed some thoughts of their very own! Then, the students made bookmarks, which they decorated thoughtfully.