Tiny, moveable homes are about 100 square feet and include all the necessities for modern living. 

Students at Sunfield Waldorf School went the extra mile. They were asked to stretch their creativity and imagine what people might have lived in if the scale were closer to real life. They created 25 homes - each about 1 square foot - to depict primitive cultures.

Beth Ann O’Dell, second- and third-grade teacher at Sunfield, said the project was part of a curriculum to study different environments around the world, to look at the resources people would have had to build homes, and then use their skills to replicate what they had in their minds. 

O’Dell gave an example of people who lived in the tropics, who would have build their home on top of stilts to protect it from high water. Those on the West Coast of North America would build longhouses out of wood. Other examples include igloos, log cabins, a cave-like abode and an African hut.

“It’s looking at different kinds of places in the world, and what their resources are, and historically how they lived and the material that they had on hand to build,” O’Dell said.

Each student presented their home to the class, and they used a story about a family that would have lived within its walls. 

O’Dell said it was an an opportunity for public speaking, a skill Waldorf emphasizes. 

One they were finished, the homes were displayed on the west end of Jefferson County, inside businesses and government buildings. 

Sym Sebastian, the Sunfield board president, said adults eyes widened when the houses were brought in. 

“It was sweet to see,” she said.

O’Dell said the students didn’t ask why they couldn’t just go to the nearest lumber store. She said they used their imaginations from the beginning. 

“I’m hoping they came away with an understanding of different cultures and different people,” O’Dell said. “People are very resourceful, so they look to their environment to build their homes.”