Where Wonder Becomes Real

in a sunlit classroom at Country Day School, the sounds of tiny hammers tapping, rulers sliding, and curious questions fill the air. Kindergarten students are hard at work building homes — not from blueprints, but from their imaginations, fueled by lessons on community, culture, and engineering.

Each model, crafted from recycled materials, tells a story: a treehouse high in the clouds, a sand-covered hut by the ocean, a sturdy brick house with tiny Lincoln-cube chimneys. Their task is simple: explore the idea of ‘home’ across different worlds, and make their own vision come to life.

“This project lets students experience how ideas can leap off the page and take shape in their own hands,” says Country Day School Kindergarten Teacher Beth Knicely P’37. “It’s about learning by doing — and discovering through creating.”

“They do some pretty adorable things with tape and cardboard,” says Junior School Kindergarten Teacher Marilyn Martens P’22,’25 with a smile, recalling her students’ inventive energy during their projects.

At Shady Side Academy’s Lower Schools, wonder isn’t confined to the classroom. Students safely explore their world in nurturing and intimate environments, where curiosity is celebrated, creativity is cultivated, and learning journeys across settings and subjects. Whether constructing homes, coding robots, tapping maple trees, or launching businesses, students are encouraged to step into real-world roles — and to see themselves as makers, explorers, and thinkers from the very start.

At the Junior School, kindergarten students embark on their own inventive journeys. Inspired by studying Thomas Edison, the Wright brothers, and Mary Anderson, students design and build original inventions out of cardboard, bottle caps, and string — then present their prototypes to AP Physics students at the Senior School.

This meeting of grades is more than a field trip. It is a meeting of minds, where budding inventors listen wide-eyed to high-level scientific concepts and share their own imaginative solutions. It is learning through connection, where exploration and innovation flourish across generations.

At every turn, students venture into new territories — geographical, historical, and creative — turning facts into stories and research into invention.

In fourth grade at the Junior School, the spirit of exploration culminates in a highly anticipated student-run marketplace. After months of managing pretend bank accounts, calculating interest, and navigating unexpected expenses, students become entrepreneurs for a day.

Behind creatively decorated storefronts, they sell handcrafted goods — bird feeders, lip oils, paintings, brownies — to an eager crowd. Digital logos, commercials, and branding strategies developed in Educational Technology classes make the experience even more authentic. 

“Students create their own logos and produce commercials to advertise their businesses,” explained Brittany Andy, Educational Technology Collaborator at the Junior School. “It brings a whole new level of excitement and professionalism to their work.”

“It’s a very big day in fourth grade,” says Junior School Fourth Grade Teacher Lisa Budd P’12,’15. “They’re not just learning about money — they’re learning to take initiative, to solve problems, to communicate.”

The financial foundation for the marketplace is built throughout the year. “We look at it as a beyond-the-classroom curriculum where students are learning lessons that will stay with them for life,” says former Fourth Grade Teacher Marciann Bodner.