Tumbleweed Tiny House Project

HoneyFern is, as always, reflecting this summer on how to make school even better for next year. Part of our approach is going to be a more formalized move towards individual learning plans and active, applied learning; the Big Picture Schools do this is on a "small" scale (still much larger than HF; they were initially funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation initiative for small schools), and I have already been talking with them about how to implement certain parts of the individual plans.

However, one of my students has leapt way ahead of me, indicating that for her curriculum next year she would like to build a house. My first thought was the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company. I stumbled across this company ten years ago and have always wanted one; now, they have generously agreed to support the project with reading materials and are connecting my student with other students who are doing the same thing next year. They have also invited her to post guest blogs on her project to the Tumbleweed blog.

This is what it is all about! I have already had someone volunteer to be the student's expert mentor for this project, so not only will she be connected electornically with a larger national community, she will also have local, IRL support. She will also be investigating clean energy like solar power in the Future City competition this fall, so she can apply this group activity to her work with her tiny house.

This is what school should be like!