For many years Sarah Bellantoni’s Class 1 drama students have read author Roni Schotter’s “Captain Snap and the Children of Vinegar Lane,” a story about how children in a small town come together to help an older man who is known as a town recluse and hoarder. In the book, his home appears to be overflowing but the children come to find it is not filled with garbage, but rather with scraps and found objects that he uses to create art.
This year, Ms. Bellantoni expanded the lesson beyond her drama class, transforming it into a larger interdisciplinary project that integrated drama with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) and The Hayot Center for Innovation (HCI). After finishing the book, the girls brainstormed a backstory for Captain Snap and imagined how they might redesign his home with care and intention.
Throughout the Class 1 curriculum, students learn the basics of building, engineering skills, what makes up a sustainable community, and the difference between wants and needs all in preparation for their Community Build Project. While using these skills to create new homes for Captain Snap, students were introduced to the idea that, “the design thinking process begins with empathy.” Ms. Bellantoni encouraged her students to consider Captain Snap’s circumstances and how thoughtful design could improve his daily life.
Working in teams of three, the girls explored clues from the book to determine what Captain Snap might want and need in a new home. From illustrations showing Captain Snap’s breath as he spoke, students concluded that his house was cold and inspired many groups to create fireplaces to keep him warm. With no preset list of options, the students had the freedom to develop their own ideas collaboratively. Designs featured art studios, organizational shelving for his supplies, additional bathrooms, beds and even swimming pools added purely for fun.
For the next phase of their project, Class 1 students traveled to the HCI, eager to be working in that space for their first time. Using materials gathered by the Director of the HCI Dr. Jon Olivera and Lower School art teacher Lauren McCarty, students had access to a wide range of recycled materials, scraps and new items to bring their designs to life. Ms. Bellantoni challenged students by asking, “How can you use these things in a creative way?” and encouraged them to “live more in the found objects rather than in a preconstructed world.” Sustainability was a large theme in this project, with students taking these materials and modifying them to create furniture and structures for Captain Snap’s home. This project helped students further advance their foundational build skills while preparing them for the larger grade-wide build to come later in the school year.
The students were captivated by the HCI, examining their surroundings that included advanced tools and projects from the Middle and Upper School students. Many paused to study the maisons de rêve (dream houses) that US students created for French class, featuring furniture and laser-cut wooden structures. This exposure offered inspiration and a glimpse into the skills they will continue to develop in the years ahead.
After completing their design worksheets, each Class 1 group assigned roles, deciding who would create specific elements for their two-story home. Inside the HCI, these engineers worked with cardboard, fabric, marker caps, cotton fluff, cups and other materials to construct original interiors. Engineering systems they had learned during their STEAM rotation with LS STEAM Integrator Jessica Busk, such as flanges, pop ups, hinges or springs, were incorporated by every group.
The students’ hard work culminated in a gallery walk organized by Ms. Bellantoni at the end of January. Each group presented their redesigned home, sharing the engineering tools they used and the challenges they encountered during their design process. Eager classmates gathered around the tables, peering into each unique creation and celebrating the creativity, collaboration and thoughtful problem-solving that brought Captain Snap’s new homes to life.
