United Community’s Early Learning Center has an exciting new addition to its playground.
If you have passed by United Community’s Early Learning Center (ELC), you may have noticed a new addition to the playground: a tiny house built just for kids.
The new playhouse was designed and built by construction technology students from Bryant High School. It features colorful details, flower boxes, custom-trimmed windows, and a child-sized interior.
The project gave Bryant High School students a chance to practice real-world construction skills. But it became much more than a classroom assignment. Students created something they could see and touch—and share with the young children at the ELC.
After attending a Tiny House Workshop herself, Dr. Waddell brought a blueprint back to her students as inspiration. From there, they made the project their own. The project allowed students to put classroom lessons into practice at nearly every stage of construction. More advanced students took the lead on planning and much of the initial building, while students including Angel, Elmer, and Sam helped with portions of the structure and finishing work.
For Elmer, one of the most rewarding parts was watching the transformation happen before his eyes—from individual walls being constructed in the classroom to a finished playhouse on the playground.
He helped build walls, paint, and add finishing touches, including one of the house’s most charming features: its flower boxes. Angel tackled another particularly challenging detail—the trim surrounding the house’s three octagonal windows.
“It was quite complicated because it wasn’t a perfect cut,” Dr. Wadell explained. “You had to measure and remeasure and cut and remeasure, and he did all of it.”
Those challenges were part of the lesson. The students weren’t simply learning how to use tools; they were learning how to read plans, measure accurately, solve problems, and adjust when something didn’t fit the first time.
Today, the playhouse sits where an old, unused sandbox once stood. Children can climb inside, gather around their little play kitchen, and use their imaginations to turn the space into whatever they want it to be that day. Jonathan, an ELC parent, commented “My son loves the “pretend store.” He talks about it all the time and I buy ice cream from him through the window.”
The high school students who created the tiny house also walk away with something valuable: the experience of seeing their classroom skills become something tangible that serves others.
Most of the students who worked on the project have since graduated or moved on from the class, but a piece of their work will remain for years to come. Future generations of children will play, imagine, and create memories in something these students built with their own hands.
And the students left behind a special reminder of their contribution. Step inside the playhouse and look up, and you’ll find the signatures of each student who helped bring the tiny house to life.
For Dr. Wadell, that lasting impact is part of what makes the project so meaningful. Looking at her students, she told them, “I hope that you guys are really proud of what you did. I’m proud of you.”
